Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41145928›Full record

Trial reportAIDS and behavior2026

Sex Work Stigma as a Partial Mediator Between Social Support and Depressive Symptoms Among Vulnerable Women Engaged in Sex Work in Southern Uganda.

Joshua Kiyingi, Susan S Witte, Proscovia Nabunya, Edward Nsubuga, Phionah Namatovu, Larissa Jennings Mayo-Wilson, Ozge Sensoy Bahar, Scarlett L Bellamy, Fred M Ssewamala

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in AIDS and behavior, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Joshua KiyingiDepartment of Medicine, Division of Prevention Science, University of California San Francisco, 550 16th Street, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA.
Susan S WitteColumbia University School of Social Work, 1255 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY, 10027, USA.
Proscovia NabunyaBrown School, Washington University in St. Louis, 1 Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA. nabunyap@wustl.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9088-5839
Edward NsubugaBrown School, Washington University in St. Louis, 1 Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA.
Phionah NamatovuInternational Center for Child Health and Development, Field Office, Masaka, Uganda.
Larissa Jennings Mayo-WilsonDepartment of Heath Behavior, Department of Maternal and Child Health, University of North Carolina, 316 Rosenau Hall, CB #7400, 135 Dauer Drive, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.
Ozge Sensoy BaharBrown School, Washington University in St. Louis, 1 Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA.
Scarlett L BellamySchool of Public Health, Department of Biostatistics, Boston University, 715 Albany Street, Boston, MA, 02118, USA.
Fred M SsewamalaBrown School, Washington University in St. Louis, 1 Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA.

Funding

Kyaterekera Project: A Combination Intervention Addressing Sexual Risk-Taking Behaviors Among Vulnerable Women in UgandaR01MH116768 · NIMH · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI SSEWAMALA, FRED M, WITTE, SUSAN S · 2018 to 2022
$3.1M
NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH116768NIMH NIH HHS R01MH116768
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Mental health is a significant challenge among women engaged in sex work (WESW), especially in low-resource settings. This study examined the mediating role of family-level and community-level sex work stigma, which is intrinsically linked to HIV, on the relationship between social support and depressive symptoms among WESW. We analyzed baseline data from the Kyaterekera study (R01MH116768), a cluster-randomized trial implemented in southern Uganda, which recruited 542 WESW aged 18-58 years. We applied a structural equation model to examine the hypothesized mediation pathway. Perceived social support was significantly associated with an increase in both mean scores of community-level sex work stigma (β = 0.156, 95% CI: 0.078, 0.235) and family-level sex work stigma (β = 0.165, 95% CI: 0.085, 0.246), respectively. There was a significant direct effect (β = -0.152, 95% CI: -0.239, -0.049) and total effect (β = -0.131, 95% CI: -0.212, -0.051) of social support on depressive symptoms among WESW. Our findings highlight the importance of strengthening supportive, stigma-free networks for WESW, especially where mental health services are scarce. Perceived social support was linked to reduced depressive symptoms and positively associated with sex work stigma, though stigma did not mediate this relationship. Longitudinal and mixed-method studies are needed to clarify the mechanisms underlying these associations.

Indexed as

DepressionHIV InfectionsSex WorkSex WorkersSocial StigmaSocial SupportAdolescentAdultFemaleHumansMiddle AgedUgandaVulnerable PopulationsYoung AdultDepressionGlobal HealthHIVSex workSex work stigmaSub-Saharan AfricaUganda

Identifiers

PMID41145928
PMCPMC12871048

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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.