Trial reportJournal of medical Internet research2022
A Mobile Intervention to Link Young Female Entertainment Workers in Cambodia to Health and Gender-Based Violence Services: Randomized Controlled Trial.
Trial report in Journal of medical Internet research, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03117842 (Using a Theory-based SMS/VM Intervention to Improve Sexual and Reproductive Health of Female Entertainment Workers in Cambodia), which is not on this map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Using a Theory-based SMS/VM Intervention to Improve Sexual and Reproductive Health of Female Entertainment Workers in Cambodia: Study Protocol of a Randomized Controlled Trial
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Use of Behavior Change Techniques in Digital HIV Prevention Programs for Adolescents and Young People: Systematic Review.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2025Pooled it
- A Scoping review of communication strategies and interventions to deliver sexual and reproductive health information among female sex workers.Reproductive health · 2026Article
- Strategies, programs and interventions implemented to improve sex workers' access to health services in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Designing and Evaluating a Prototype of a Trilingual Data Collection Tool for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region to Collect Data About Violence Against Sex Workers: Multiple Methods Approach in User-Centered Design.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Perspectives of Digital Health Innovations in Low- and Middle-Income Health Care Systems From South and Southeast Asia.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
- User-Centered Design for Designing and Evaluating a Prototype of a Data Collection Tool to Submit Information About Incidents of Violence Against Sex Workers: Multiple Methods Approach.JMIR human factors · 2024Article
- Connecting Female Entertainment Workers in Cambodia to Health Care Services Using mHealth: Economic Evaluation of Mobile Link.JMIR formative research · 2024Article
- Intervention Approaches to Address Intimate Partner Violence and HIV: a Scoping Review of Recent Research.Current HIV/AIDS reports · 2023Article
- "No matter what, we just work with the trauma…": Mental Health Therapists' Care of Diverse Sexual and Gender Identity Citizens in Cambodia.Research square · 2023Article
- Information and communications technology use to prevent and respond to sexual and gender-based violence in low- and middle-income countries: An evidence and gap map.Campbell systematic reviews · 2022Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundFemale entertainment workers (FEWs) in Cambodia experience a greater prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), psychological distress, substance abuse, and gender-based violence (GBV) than the general female population. Reaching FEWs with health education and linking them to services has been difficult because of their hidden and stigmatized status.
objectiveThis study evaluated the efficacy of the Mobile Link intervention in improving FEWs' health by engaging and connecting them to existing HIV, sexual and reproductive health, and GBV services.
methodsA randomized controlled trial was conducted between March 2018 and June 2019 in the capital city and 3 other provinces in Cambodia. FEWs in the intervention arm received automated twice-weekly Short Message Service messages and voice messages with health information and direct links to outreach workers. The control group received the existing standard care, including free HIV and STI counseling and testing and a toll-free helpline staffed by trained counselors. We used a stratified random sampling method to select participants from 5 study sites in the 4 selected provinces. Initially, we randomly selected 600 participants from a list of 4000 FEWs by age group (18-24 and 25-30 years) and study site using a random number generator and enrolled them in person. The primary outcome measures included self-reported HIV and STI testing, condom use, and contraceptive use assessed through a face-to-face structured interview. We also measured secondary outcomes, including contact with outreach workers, escorted referral service use, forced drinking, and GBV experiences. Intervention effects were modeled using repeated measures, multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression.
resultsA total of 1118 participants were recruited and enrolled in the study. We included 218 FEWs in the intervention arm and 170 FEWs in the control arm in the per protocol analyses after removing 730 dropouts. Evidence of positive intervention effects was detected for the following secondary outcomes: contacting an outreach worker (at 30 weeks: adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 3.29, 95% CI 1.28-8.47), receiving an escorted referral (at 30 weeks: AOR 2.86, 95% CI 1.09-7.52; at 60 weeks: AOR 8.15, 95% CI 1.65-40.25), and never being forced to drink at work (at 60 weeks: AOR 3.95, 95% CI 1.62-9.60). Over time, no significant differences between intervention and control groups were observed for any primary outcomes in the fully adjusted models.
conclusionsThe Mobile Link intervention effectively connected FEWs with outreach workers and escorted referrals but did not show an effect on primary outcomes. Reduced forced drinking at work was also significantly more extensive in the intervention group than in the control group. Longer-term messaging may increase access to services and impact FEWs' health outcomes in the future.
trial registrationClinicaltrials.gov NCT03117842; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03117842. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): RR2-10.1186/s13063-018-2614-7.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.