Karine Bertrand

• Ph.D, psychologist
• Professor (Full) at Université de Sherbrooke

Homeless young adults with problematic psychoactive substance (PS) use face multiple challenges that compromise their well-being. Despite these challenges, few of them access psychosocial services and rather rely on personal resources to promote their own well-being. However, literature has been largely centered on their difficulties, leaving their...

This presentation of my preliminary thesis results, which examines the meanings that trans and non-binary individuals with risky and problematic substance use attribute to resilience within their substance use trajectories, gender affirmation and transition pathways, and their experiences with health and addiction services, aims to inform and guide...

Problématique: Plusieurs personnes qui habitent la rue n’ont pas accès aux ressources d’hébergement en itinérance et se retrouvent contraintes à habiter dans la rue. Ces personnes peuvent être celles qui vivent seules, en groupe dans des campements de tailles variables ou qui ont recours à des installations variées (un véhicule, un abri d’autobus,...

BACKGROUND The opioid overdose crisis currently affecting Canada has led to several thousand deaths. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the consequences of this crisis, particularly with the instability of the unregulated drug market. Québec is observing a similar trend: the opioids consumed are more dangerous, and the number of overdoses is ris...

Encore à ce jour, la douance intellectuelle est sujette à débat parmi le personnel clinique et de recherche d’une diversité de champs d’expertise. Sa conceptualisation et sa mesure ne font pas l’unanimité, engendrant des limites importantes dans la production de connaissances scientifiques entourant les populations douées. Si nous savons que des ap...

ABSTRACT To this day, intellectual giftedness remains a subject of debate among clinicians and researchers in a variety of fields. Its conceptualization and measurement are not unanimously accepted, resulting in significant limitations in the production of scientific knowledge surrounding gifted populations. While we know that low cognitive ability...

OBJECTIFS DU CHAPITRE : 1) Mieux comprendre le stress minoritaire et sa contribution potentielle dans les inégalités en matière de santé et les habitudes de consommation de substances psychoactives (SPA) chez les jeunes trans et non-binaires (TNB); 2) Situer l'évaluation des habitudes de consommation des jeunes TNB dans une perspective écosystémiqu...

Enjeux contemporains et approches innovantes Ces dernières années ont été marquées par certains gains juridiques et politiques pour les jeunes trans et non-binaires (TNB), mais également par des tensions sociopolitiques entourant leurs transitions de genre. Parallèlement à une couverture médiatique empreinte de sensationnalisme ou de désinformation...

Background and Aims Opioid use disorder often co‐occurs with chronic pain but assessment and treatment of these co‐occurring disorders is complex. This review aims to identify current treatments and delivery models for co‐occurring chronic pain and opioid use disorder (OUD) documented in the scientific literature. Design Scoping review. Methods T...

Les recherches participatives en santé sont en plein développement. Certaines thématiques rendent l’association de personnes ayant un savoir expérientiel à la recherche à la fois plus complexe et nécessaire. C’est le cas des personnes qui consomment des drogues, dont les savoirs sont invisibilisés en raison de l’illégalité de l’usage des drogues et...

Les recherches participatives peuvent contribuer à améliorer les services dans le domaine des addictions. Toutefois, une implication superficielle des personnes détenant un savoir expérientiel comporte le risque de reproduire des situations d’iniquités sociales plutôt que de renforcer leur pouvoir d’agir. Cet article a pour objectif d’exposer un bi...

Purpose Those who care for people with schizophrenia and substance use disorders (PLS-SUD) are faced with the complex demands of a long journey to recovery. For the carers, this translates into specific needs related to various areas of their lives. However, few studies have contributed to the understanding of these carers’ needs. The purpose of th...

Background Older adults are at risk of potentially inappropriate medication use given polypharmacy, multimorbidity, and age-related changes, which contribute to the growing burden associated with opioid use. The objective of this study was to estimate the costs of health service utilization attributable to opioid use and potentially inappropriate m...

Background: the concept of recovery capital refers to the sum of resources that a person has available to initiate and continue a recovery process. this concept has not been greatly explored with people with persistent substance use disorder (sUD), whose recovery is often quite long. Method: We conducted 19 qualitative interviews with 19 people (...

Background While compliance with preventive measures remains central to limit the spread of COVID-19, these measures critically affected mental health of young adults. We therefore investigated the association between the level of compliance with COVID-19 preventive measures and depressive symptoms among young adults in Canada and France. Methods...

Contexte. Malgré les besoins psychosociaux que présentent les jeunes adultes en situation d’itinérance qui consomment des substances psychoactives, ils sont peu nombreux à fréquenter les services d’aide. Bien qu’ils s’appuient sur des ressources personnelles pour favoriser leur bien-être, celles-ci demeurent peu étudiées. La littérature suggère que...

Background. Young adults in situations of social precarity are more exposed to the risks associated with both unemployment and psychoactive substance use. Low-threshold work is a promising alternative for this cohort, yet it has been little studied to date. This qualitative study describes the significance of both work in general and low-threshold...

Objective: To examine changes in life satisfaction and physical and mental health associated with opioid and potentially inappropriate opioid prescribing (PIOP) among older adults. Methods: Secondary data analysis from the Étude sur la Santé des Aînés (ESA)-Services study. The sample consisted of 945 older adults recruited in primary care with a...

This study aimed to describe and understand the links between musical activities (i.e. listening, playing, attending festive events, belonging to music-based communities) and the addictive trajectory of homeless young adults who experience problematic psychoactive substance (PS) use. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 15 hom...

Introduction: People with opioid use disorders (OUD) present with high levels of medical and psychosocial vulnerabilities. In recent years, studies have highlighted a shift in demographic and biopsychosocial profiles of people with OUD. In order to support the development of a profile-based approach to care, this study aims to identify different p...

Collaboration between academic researchers and community members is a cornerstone of community-based research. The success of a project’s results depends on this collaboration. Currently collaborative practices are mostly documented from the researchers’ perspective. Based on a case study of the development of the MyBuzz.ca online intervention for...

Introduction Research undertaken since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic has provided us information about the impact of the pandemic on the gambling habits of the general population. However, very little is known about certain subgroups at increased risk of developing gambling disorder, such as the LGBTQIA2S+ population. The purpose of this s...

Introduction. Les personnes en situation d’itinérance qui consomment des substances psychoactives font face à plusieurs barrières à l’accès aux services généraux et ceux qui leur sont dédiés. Cela les mène, entre autres, à interagir fréquemment avec les services d’urgence, que ce soit avec la police, les services paramédicaux et les urgences hospit...

The current emergency response for substance users experiencing homelessness is not adapted to their needs. This has led to the revolving door phenomenon and to issues of collaboration between involved organizations. This study aims to demonstrate the relevance from the participants’ perspective of: 1) the World Café; 2) the deliberative democratic...

Background To mitigate the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on financial resources, governments and family/friends mobilized financial support interventions (e.g., emergency aid funds) and assistance. However, little is known about how financial assistance alleviated mental health problems. This study aimed to investigate the moderating eff...

Specialized addiction services (SAS) are typically designed for people with a transient substance use disorder (SUD). However, some people who use these services have a persistent SUD. Apart from the need to offer continuity in services over time, there is little scientific data on the resources to deploy to better meet the needs of this population...

This study explores the impact of the pandemic on mental health and the strategies put in place to overcome these challenges, from the perspective of young adults who experience social precarity and PS use in Montreal. This collaborative study used a descriptive qualitative design. Ten semi-directed interviews were conducted with young adults aged...

Objective: Assess the efficacy of integrative couple treatment for pathological gambling (ICT-PG) in comparison to treatment provided in an individual approach. Method: Eighty couples were assigned randomly to ICT-PG (n = 44, Mage = 42.2, SD [13.4], n male gamblers = 29) or individual treatment (n = 36, Mage = 39.9 SD [13.0], n male gamblers = 3...

While the COVID-19 pandemic impacted young adults’ alcohol use patterns, little is known about how changes in alcohol use may differ across different settings. Our objective was to identify and compare factors associated with changes in alcohol use among young adults in Canada and France during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted...

Ce projet photovoix vise à mieux comprendre les ressources qu'utilisent les jeunes adultes en situation d'itinérance qui consomment des substances psychoactives pour favoriser leur bien-être global. Plus spécifiquement, des jeunes concerné.e.s ont choisi d'adresser cette question : Quelle est la place de la musique au travers des épreuves de la vie...

Background To mitigate the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on financial resources, governments provided financial support (e.g., emergency aid funds) as well as family via personal assistance. This study aims to assess the moderating effect of financial support from the government or from family on the association between income loss and d...

Harm reduction (HR) is an alternative to the moralization of drug use and a pragmatic public health approach aimed at minimizing harms associated with use. This study sought to gain the perspectives of persons who inject drugs (PWID) on the adequacy of services provided by HR organizations in Montreal. Twenty-two semi-structured interviews and two...

While young adults experienced mental health challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, little is known about how their mental health needs were subsequently met through access to mental health services (MHS). From October to December 2020, we conducted an online survey of young adults (18-29 years) living in Canada and France to investigate factors...

Objective: To study the factors associated with opioid use and potentially inappropriate opioid use (PIOU) in primary care older adults with non-cancer pain referring to the conceptual framework developed by the American Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Methods: This is a secondary analysis of health survey and medico-administrative d...

Family caregivers provide important leverage for facilitating the recovery of persons with schizophrenia and substance use disorders. For the caregivers, this translates into needs for knowledge as well as strategies to reduce their distress and to meet the complex demands of a long journey to recovery. The objective of this qualitative evaluation...

Background High rates of COVID-19 vaccination uptake are required to attain community immunity. This study aims to identify factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine uncertainty and refusal among young adults, an underexplored population with regards to vaccine intention generally, in two high-income settings: Canada and France. Methods A cross-sec...

Young psychoactive substance users in social precarity are vulnerable to a range of health and social issues. Time perspective is one aspect to consider in supporting change. This study draws on the views expressed by young adults to portray their subjective experience of time, how this perception evolves and its implications for their substance us...

Drug use and health: perspectives of people who inject drugs in Montreal Abstract Introduction. Persons who use drugs by injection (PUDI) face multiple threats to their health and life in addition to being subject to repression and social marginalization. Methodology. A qualitative study was carried out to understand the links that PWID establish...

Rationale The reconceptualization of substance use disorders (SUD) as a chronic phenomenon calls for a paradigm shift in service provision, particularly by way of long-term treatment and support. Studies that have evaluated the efficacy of long-term treatment models seem to indicate that they are an improvement on more standard short-term treatment...

Homeless young adults are particularly vulnerable to the harmful consequences of problematic psychoactive substance (PAS) use. Problematic PAS use leads to the dysregulation of the brain reward pathways and in turn to difficulties regulating emotions and PAS use. Through its impact on the reward pathways, music could promote the well-being of those...

RÉSUMÉ Les jeunes adultes vivant en situation d’itinérance sont particulièrement vulnérables aux conséquences néfastes de la consommation problématique de substances psychoactives (SPA). Bien que plusieurs sortent du cycle de la consommation sans l’aide des services, la littérature est centrée sur leurs difficultés alors que les moyens qu’ils utili...

Music is increasingly considered to promote the health and well-being of clinical populations treated in hospital and psychiatric settings. Research shows numerous benefits of music on physical and mental health issues by responding to psychological, emotional, social and physical needs. However, while music's benefits are largely supported among c...

This study aimed to identify and compare major areas of met and unmet needs reported by 455 homeless or recently housed individuals recruited from emergency shelters, temporary housing, and permanent housing in Quebec (Canada). Mixed methods, guided by the Maslow framework, were used. Basic needs were the strongest needs category identified, follow...

En pleine crise sanitaire, les personnes en situation d’itinérance doivent composer avec des ressources réduites les plaçant dans l’impossibilité de se conformer aux exigences de la santé publique. Les conditions sociales auxquelles elles sont confrontées peuvent engendrer des conséquences graves, ce qui vient exacerber les inégalités sociales et é...

Synthesis Title: The GID-COVID Project: Gender and Intervention in Addiction with Individuals in Situations of Social Precarity in the Context of a Pandemic Nominated Principal Applicant: Karine Bertrand, Canada Research Chair in Gender and Intervention in Addiction, Université de Sherbrooke (U de S); Scientific Director, Institut universitaire sur...

Problematic substance use has a significant impact on the health of a large proportion of people aged 65 years and older. Along with population growth, there is an increase in seniors enrolling for treatment in Québec (Canada). This study explores the perspectives of older adults related to their substance use experiences, help-seeking and utilizat...

Homelessness is an ongoing societal and public health problem in Canada and other countries. Housing services help homeless individuals along the transition towards stable housing, yet few studies have assessed factors that predict change in individual housing trajectories. This study identified predictors of change in housing status over 12 months...

Issues Music is among the most frequently used medium to promote young adults' well‐being. To that aim, the efficiency of music is explained by its capacity to modulate emotions through its effect on the brain's reward pathways. Hence, music could help individuals suffering from dysregulations in these pathways, whose experience of positive emotion...

The figure of drug user and dealer is stigmatized, linked to violence and illness. This is due to a reductionist discourse which implements othering processes generating scapegoat figures in the drug world. All drug users and sellers are assimilated with these spoiled identities in the media or in drug policies, while the reality is much more diver...

Article accepted for publication

L’expérience subjective au temps, faisant référence à la manière dont un individu perçoit son passé, présent et futur, représente une ressource significative dans l’étude du changement dans les trajectoires de consommation de substances psychoactives ou d’insertion socioprofessionnelle. Cette présentation vise à exposer les résultats d’entrevues ré...

Background This paper presents an assessment of the current emergency response to homeless people who use substances in Montreal, a major North American city. This project addresses the rising concern about homelessness in high-income countries. Several studies have shown that homeless people frequently use emergency services (i.e., police, paramed...

La croissance d’Internet dans les dernières décennies a eu de nombreux avantages, mais présente aussi des risques, dont le développement d’une dépendance à Internet. Afin de prévenir les méfaits associés à l’utilisation intensive d’Internet, quelques programmes de prévention ont été développés en Asie et en Europe. Jusqu’à présent, les premières ét...

Background and aims: The ‘TAPAJ’ (Alternative Employment Paid each Day) program is a low-threshold employment intervention targeting the street youth (16-30 years old) living situations of unemployment, precariousness and social exclusion. However, its outcomes regarding this population remain currently poorly understood. Time perspectives, a subje...

This poster offers a comprehensive classification model for video games. Also, this poster offers a tool to assess a player’s experience of a game in clinical context. This 16-items questionnaire highlights the player’s motivation to engage in a game and can be use as an intervention tool as well

Introduction: Time perspective, or how individuals perceive and consider their past, present and future, appears to be a valuable resource when it comes to behaviour change. However, current knowledge of the topic is difficult to generalize to the context of harm reduction owing to a paucity of research on vulnerable populations, including street y...

Objective: In the field of health care services, resource allocation is increasingly determined based on a population needs model. Although service needs models have been developed for adults with substance use problems, it would seem inappropriate to apply them indiscriminately to young people. Method: The method used proposes six steps: (1) ta...

Opioid Dependence Treatment seen by People who Actively Inject Dugs in Montreal In a study conducted in Montreal, we analysed the experience of opioid dependence treatment (ODT) for people who actively inject drugs (PWID). How does this substitution treatment fit into PWID’s self-acceptance in it’s in their bodily, emotional, psychological and soc...

Améliorer la réponse d'urgence offerte aux personnes en situation d'itinérance en contexte d'intoxication : quelles pistes de solution à mettre en place ?

Background Men who have sex with men (MSM) have distinctive substance use (SU), which is more often linked to a sexual context than it is for their heterosexual peers. Screening of MSM’s SU, its sexual contexts and the associated risks, is of clinical and public health concern. This paper aims to describe the preliminary development of a screening...

Context: Couple treatment for pathological gambling is an innovative strategy. There are some results supporting its potential effectiveness, but little is known about the subjective experiences of the participants. Objective: The aim of this article is to document the experiences of gamblers and their partners participating in one of two treatment...

Substance addiction in young adults is particularly problematic. Yet, much remain at stake in understanding the specifics of this population’s access to services. The objective of this study is to explore young adults’ initiation of substance abuse treatment. Our study sample was composed of 35 individuals aged 18 to 30 with problematic psychoactiv...

Problématique et objectif Les hommes gais et bisexuels consomment davantage de drogues que leurs pairs hétérosexuels. Cependant, peu d’études ont analysé les liens entre l’ensemble des dimensions du vécu homosexuel et la consommation problématique de drogues. L’objectif de cette étude est de décrire et de comprendre les interrelations entre certain...

Les hommes ayant des relations sexuelles avec d’autres hommes (HARSAH) peuvent vivre des situations de vulnérabilité au regard de la consommation de substances psychoactives (SPA) et de la santé sexuelle. Ils font face également à des barrières concernant l’accessibilité à des services adaptés, dues à des lacunes en matière de formation des interve...

La présence de personnes âgées (PA) ayant des problèmes de consommation de substances psychoactives (SPA) dans les centres de réadaptation en dépendance (CRD) se serait accentuée au cours des dernières années. Les PA présenteraient deux types de profils distincts. Afin de mieux répondre adéquatement à leurs besoins spécifiques sur les plans cliniqu...

Substance addiction in young adults is particularly problematic. Yet, much remain at stake in understanding the specifics of this population’s access to services. The objective of this study is to explore young adults’ initiation of substance misuse treatment. Our study sample was composed of 35 individuals aged 18 to 30 with problematic psychoacti...

People with mental disorders (MD) have high rates of substance use problems (SUP) that are undertreated and understudied despite their adverse outcomes. The objective of this study is to examine barriers and facilitators that influence help-seeking to addiction treatment from the perspective of people with co-occurring MD and SUP. Forty-three indiv...

Issues: Despite a growing trend towards considering addiction as a chronic disease, the development of intervention models addressing the chronicity of substance use disorder is relatively new, and no literature review on this topic is available. The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate the efficacy of intervention models designed within t...

Background The distribution of safer crack-smoking equipment has been implemented in several Canadian cities to reduce potential health risks such as transmission of blood borne viruses (BBV). Little is known about the perspectives of persons who smoke crack (PWSC) on sharing crack-smoking materials or using in settings where safer crack-smoking eq...

p> OBJECTIVES: Consumption of energy drinks (ED) raises concerns because of adverse health effects possibly linked with high levels of caffeine and sugar intake. The study looks at the scope of ED consumption as well as some of the associated characteristics. METHODS: Thirty-six public colleges in the Canadian province of Québec agreed to particip...

Substance addiction in young adults is particularly problematic. Yet, much remain at stake in understanding the specifics of this population’s access to services. The objective of this study is to explore young adults’ perspectives of their initiation of substance abuse treatment. Our study sample was composed of 35 individuals aged 18 to 30 with p...

Abstract Cocaine use is highly prevalent and a major public health problem. While some studies have reported frequent comorbidity problems among cocaine users, few studies have included evaluation of gambling problems. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of gambling problems and compare those who were at-risk gamblers with non-problem gambl...

Background: There is growing evidence of intravenous administration of prescription opioids (POs) in several countries. Preparation of POs for injection may leave residues in containers and filters used by people who inject drugs and may lead to adverse health outcomes if they are injected. Methods: This exploratory study used cross-sectional da...

Some authors have called attention to the lack of service integration related to evaluation and treatment of parental substance abuse, an ongoing challenge for service providers. A cross-training project involving exchanges (immersion sessions) among clinical teams was established to improve the integration, effectiveness and coherence of intervent...

Si plusieurs programmes d’entrainement aux habiletes parentales (PEHP) sont reconnus comme efficaces, ils ne reussissent pas toujours a retenir les familles qui pourraient le plus en beneficier. La presente etude a pour objectif general de mieux comprendre les enjeux entourant l’engagement dans un PEHP des familles dont les parents sont aux prises...

Problem gambling can have profound consequences on a person’s life, consequences that range from financial, psychological to relational and that affect, in particular, couple relationships. Despite these widely documented relational consequences, most therapies for problem gambling favour an individual approach. Nonetheless, in the field of addicti...

Background and Objectives Despite being common among cocaine users, mental health problems and their relationship with HIV and hepatitis C high risk injection behaviors are poorly documented. This study was undertaken to examine the relationships between mood and anxiety disorders and the sharing of drug injection equipment among cocaine users who...

La consommation problématique de substances psychoactives (SPA) est vécue par de nombreuses personnes âgées (PA). La présence de PA dans les centres de réadaptation en dépendance (CRD) se serait d’ailleurs accentuée au cours des dernières années. Certaines PA en traitement présentent une consommation problématique de SPA qui dure depuis de nombreus...

Recovery from drug abuse is a complex process in which motivation is central. The focus of this article is on drug-dependent people's experiences with sources that influence their motivation to change. The sample in our study was comprised of 127 drug-dependent adults identified in criminal courts, hospital emergency departments and Health and Soci...

We tested the efficacy of a brief intervention based on motivational interviewing (MI) to reduce high-risk injection behaviours over a 6-month period among people who inject drugs (PWID). A single site 2-group parallel randomized controlled trial comparing MI with a brief educational intervention (EI). A study office located in downtown Montréal, C...