Social-structural barriers to primary care among sex workers: findings from a community-based cohort in Vancouver, Canada (2014–2021)
This study characterized primary care use and its social-structural determinants among sex workers over 7 years. Participants faced a high burden of STBBIs and other health disparities, and a proportion faced gaps in primary care utilization. Scale-up of trauma-informed, culturally and linguistically tailored, sex worker-friendly primary care models are needed, alongside structural interventions to decriminalize and destigmatize sex work and substance use.
Authors
- Haoxuan Zhou
- Miriam Harris (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3870-4858)
- Shira M. Goldenberg (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1633-9749)
- Andrea Krüsi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2531-8192)
- Kate Shannon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6764-5212)
Institutions
- Boston University (US)
- Boston Medical Center (US)
- University of British Columbia (CA)
- Simon Fraser University (CA)
- San Diego State University (US)
- Center for Health and Gender Equity (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- BMC Health Services Research
- Published
- 2025-01-23
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-025-12275-x
- Citations
- 6
- Primary Topic
- Sex work and related issues
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 25.21
Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research
- National Institute on Drug Abuse