Nelson Pang
Nelson Pang, PhD candidate
Research Interests:
- Adolescent and young adult mental health, well-being, and risk-taking behaviors
- Online sports gambling, addictions, substance use, and harm reduction
- Health of men and boys
- Health services research and equitable access to care
- Social Epidemiology and upstream approaches to care
- Social Work Education and Professional Practice
- Program Evaluation
Biography
Nelson Pang is a PhD candidate at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto and a Registered Social Worker. His research examines mental health, addictions, access to care, and health inequities with a particular focus on addressing these challenges through evidence-based interventions and a social determinants of health lens. He is particularly interested in upstream approaches that address the social and structural conditions shaping health, emphasizing prevention and equitable access to care.
Nelson’s doctoral research uses mixed methods to examine online sports gambling among young adults aged 18–29 in Canada. Combining in-depth interviews and survey data, he explores how motivations, social influences, and digital betting environments shape gambling behaviours and experiences. His dissertation also seeks to identify distinct profiles of young adults who engage in sports betting and better understand their mental health, financial, and social well-being. By considering individual experiences alongside broader social, technological, and regulatory influences, this research aims to inform harm reduction, social work responses and gambling policy to an increasingly accessible and normalized form of gambling.
His broader research experience spans social epidemiology, health services research, harm-reduction, and community mental health and addictions. He has contributed to studies examining youth mental health, body image, homelessness, and access to care. Program evaluation is central to his work, including evaluations of mental health interventions, addiction services, community harm reduction initiatives, and alternatives to police-led crisis responses. Collaboration is central to his approach to research and evaluation, with partnerships among service providers, community organizations, and academic researchers playing a vital role in shaping meaningful research and translating findings into recommendations for practice, service delivery, and policy.
Alongside his research, Nelson has taught undergraduate and graduate courses at the University of Toronto, the University of Regina, and Toronto Metropolitan University. His teaching includes social policy, social work research, research methods, and program evaluation. He has experience teaching in person and online, including through synchronous and asynchronous formats. He is also interested in social work education and
professional practice, particularly how research, teaching, and practice intersect to strengthen social work training and service delivery.
Dissertation
A Mixed-Methods Study of Online Sports Gambling Behaviors Among Young Adults in Canada
Education
PhD Candidate, Social Work, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto
MSW, Health and Mental Health Specialization, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto
BSW, University of Waterloo
BA, University of Waterloo