Burden and correlates of mental health diagnoses among sex workers in an urban setting

Puri, Nitasha; Shannon, Kate; Nguyen, Paul; Goldenberg, Shira M.

doi:10.1186/s12905-017-0491-y

Cited by 55 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…In a study done among 692 sex workers, participants had reported that 48.8% of them had been given a diagnosis of mental issue. Depression (35.1%) and anxiety (19.9%) were the most common diagnoses [ 29 ]. Furthermore, drug addiction has a direct relationship with sex work as demonstrated in several studies [ 30 – 33 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors influencing women’s sex work in a Lebanese sample: results of a case-control study

Slim

Haddad²,

Sfeir

et al. 2020

BMC Women's Health

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Background: Many constituents contribute to the rise of sex work in Lebanon such as the socioeconomic situation in the country (poverty, increased unemployment rates, and religious divisions), as well as the political and social instability. Several emotional and psychological factors such as depression, stress, anxiety, low self-esteem, emotional abuse, may force some people to rely on trading sex as a coping strategy for persevering. Therefore, it was deemed interesting to explore and understand factors that are correlated with sex work in Lebanon where no study, to our knowledge, has been written on this critical point. The objective of the study was to assess factors (such as trauma, child abuse, partner abuse, depression, anxiety, and stress) associated with women joining sex work among a sample of the Lebanese population. Methods: A case-control study was conducted on a group of women (60 sex workers recruited from a prison for women) involved in sex work matched for age and sex with a control group (60 non-sex workers). Controls were chosen from the same prison population as the sex workers. Results: A logistic regression was conducted, taking being a sex worker vs not as the dependent variable; independent factors were sociodemographic characteristics, child (psychological, neglect, physical and verbal) and inter partner violence (physical and non-physical), depression, anxiety and stress. Higher anxiety (aOR = 1.08) and higher inter partner physical violence (aOR = 1.02) were altogether related with higher chances of being a sex worker. Conclusion: This study proposes an association between child abuse, inter partner violence, alcohol consumption, anxiety, and sex work. Future research may also need to contemplate other factors not examined here, including parental substance use, personality traits, and many others.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors influencing women’s sex work in a Lebanese sample: results of a case-control study

Slim

Haddad²,

Sfeir

et al. 2020

BMC Women's Health

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“…More so, mental health problems among African sex workers are likely to also be ensued from anxiety over income, food, and housing, alongside concerns about infection and danger from continuing to work in the absence of sexual and social protection. 17 They are becoming increasingly worried about their health, 18 and those living with HIV are greatly concerned that their prior condition, with its negative effects on their immune system, will make them especially vulnerable to contracting COVID-19 and may worsen their health. 10 With the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for the UN Development Program, UN member states all pledged to ensure "no one will be left behind" and to "endeavor to reach the furthest behind first."…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex Workers Should not Be Forgotten in Africa’s COVID-19 Response

Adebisi

Alaran

Akinokun

et al. 2020

The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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COVID-19 is a global health emergency facing many countries around the world. Sex workers in Africa are among one of the vulnerable populations disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic on the continent. Sex workers are excluded from African government safety net, and this may force some sex workers back to sex work amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of the nature of sex work, physical distancing and other precautionary measures are impossible to observe, further compromising COVID-19 response. Sex workers in Africa have been known to face high levels of stigma and discrimination, including limited access to healthcare services. Disruption in HIV care and prevention services due to the pandemic among this key population may have negative impacts on the hard-won achievements in HIV response in Africa. In addition, stigma and discrimination toward sex workers could also make contact tracing challenging and limit access to COVID-19 testing among this vulnerable group. With the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for the UN Development Program, UN member states all pledged to ensure "no one will be left behind" and to "endeavor to reach the furthest behind first." This could not be more important than now as sex workers as a part of the population are left behind in COVID-19 response in Africa. It is important that the African government should ensure collective and inclusive response in the fight against COVID-19. Sex workers should not be forgotten in Africa's COVID-19 response because no one is safe, until all is safe.

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“…To the best of our knowledge no previous study ever reported on the relation between MD and FSW's provision of sexual services at clients' places. However, a study in Canada found that compared to Brothels, FSWs providing sexual services in the outdoor spaces/public spaces and informal indoor spaces were at an increased risk of developing mental health problems (35). Therefore, we postulated that the negative association between MD and sex work at clients' places could be because sex work at clients' places decrease client perpetrated GBV (36) which is a risk factor for MD.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Prevalence and Factors Associated with Major Depression Among Female Sex Workers in Post-Conflict Gulu District: A Cross-Sectional Study

Ouma

Tumwesigye

Ndejjo

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background: Depression is the world’s leading cause of disability and a major contributor to the overall global burden of disease. Female sex workers operating in conflict-affected settings could be more prone to depression, yet the prevalence and factors associated with depression among this special population remain inadequately addressed. This study thus aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with major depression among female sex workers in post-conflict Gulu district. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 300 randomly selected female sex workers in Gulu district between March and June 2020. Possible factors associated with depression were assessed using pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire and participants assessed for major depression using Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) version 7.0.0. We utilized STATA 14.0 for univariate, bivariate and multivariate data analyses.Results: The mean age of study participants was 26.4 years (SD = 6), 57.7% attained primary education, 51.7% never married and 42.1% were living with HIV. Almost half (47.7%) of the participants had major depression, of whom half (50.4%) had severe depression and one-thirds (34.3%) had suicidal ideation. At multivariate level, factors that showed positive association with major depression were: psychological stressor (aOR = 11.0, 95%CI: 5.77-20.86), living with HIV (aOR= 2.32, 95%CI: 1.29-4.15), being verbally abused (aOR = 2.27, 95%CI: 1.26-4.07), and being 30+ years of age (aOR = 1.95, 95%CI: 1.05-3.61). Meanwhile, factors that showed negative association with major depression were: providing sexual services at client’s place (aOR=0.46, 95%CI: 0.24-0.91), using modern family planning method (aOR=0.47, 95%CI: 0.25-0.87), and daily intake of alcohol (aOR=0.50, 95%CI: 0.28-0.88).Conclusion: The findings underscore the high prevalence of major depression among female sex workers driven by psychological stress, living with HIV/AIDs, being verbally abused by clients and being 30+years of age. The high prevalence of major depression has important public health ramifications at individual and societal levels and requires urgent attention of all stakeholders.

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Burden and correlates of mental health diagnoses among sex workers in an urban setting

Cited by 55 publications

References 60 publications

Factors influencing women’s sex work in a Lebanese sample: results of a case-control study

Factors influencing women’s sex work in a Lebanese sample: results of a case-control study

Sex Workers Should not Be Forgotten in Africa’s COVID-19 Response

Prevalence and Factors Associated with Major Depression Among Female Sex Workers in Post-Conflict Gulu District: A Cross-Sectional Study

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