“I’m Going to Work, but It Is Survival, Too”: A Unique Qualitative Study of Occupational Mental Health and Wellbeing Among Women Sex Workers in Baltimore, Maryland

Details

• Personal Author:
  Basurto SGA ; Krishnamoorthi M ; Sherman S ; Tomko C
• Description:
  Objective: The Surgeon General released the Framework for Mental Health and Well-being in the Workplace, a call to attention for industry leaders. In this study, we applied this framework to street-based women sex workers (WSW) to understand their mental health outcomes. Methods: Fourteen WSW in Baltimore, Maryland completed structured qualitative interviews to characterize occupational environment in street-based sex work and mental health outcomes. Results: WSW expressed workplace desires shared by those in the traditional workforce, such as flexibility, sense of belonging, safety and security. Factors like violence, lack of a strong support network, and enduring social stigma were highlighted as occupational barriers to positive mental health. Conclusions: This study is the first to use the Surgeon General's Framework for Mental Health and Well-being in the Workplace to incorporate the perspectives of street-based WSW. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Mental Health Nervous System Occupational Health Safety Violence
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Women Sex Workers Decriminalization Mental Health Qualitative Analysis Stigma Total Worker Health TWH Wellbeing
• ISSN:
  1076-2752
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; Philadelphia Region [OSHA]
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20070914
• Citation:
  J Occup Environ Med 2025 Apr; :[Epub ahead of print]
• Contact Point Address:
  Mahima Krishnamoorthi, 733 N Broadway, Baltimore, MD, 21205
• Email:
  mkrish15@jh.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2025
• Performing Organization:
  Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20210901
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• End Date:
  20260831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:2b6a4b9dfecce68d614622eb61c0564d01db858b97a6b3478eb8fb247de5cfab86703b8cd2ed1aa4ac1bb1828c2c1b64acd2cff27ff208cd0f9810b9b18f7328
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/209035/cdc_209035_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.43 MB ]