Catherine Tomko
Biographic Data
| ID | 5875307 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Catherine Tomko |
| GIVEN NAMES | Catherine |
| FAMILY NAME | Tomko |
| SIGNATURE | TOMKO C |
| AFFILIATIONS | Johns Hopkins University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-2622-5518 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 21 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 3 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 21 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2017 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Gentrification, policing, and potential pathways to health
The Drug Market’s Impact on the Overdose Risk Environment for Women Who Use Drugs During the Covid-19 Pandemic
Structural Vulnerability and Police Interaction among Women Who Use Drugs amid De Facto Decriminalization in Baltimore, Maryland
Exposure to criminal-legal systems, including policing, arrest, and incarceration, has deleterious effects on access to health and social services among people who use drugs. Women who use drugs (WWUD) may be especially vulnerable to policing, due to the high prevalence of sex work among them, which is also a criminalized behavior. Recent epidemiologic events and policy reforms are thought to have reduced exposure to arrests for low-level, non-vi…
Examining the association between psychological resilience and chronic versus discrete stressors among individuals who use opioids in Baltimore, Maryland
Strategies and Interventions Used to Prevent Violence Against Sex Workers in the United States
Structural factors in the United States, such as criminalization, contribute to disproportionate rates of violence against sex workers and subsequent risk of adverse health outcomes. There is a clear need for systemic interventions and risk reduction strategies to reduce violence in this population. To inform next steps in prevention, this scoping review provides an overview of the literature on violence prevention efforts targeting sex workers i…
Multiple material need insecurities and severity of psychological distress during the Covid-19 pandemic among women who use drugs
WWUD experienced a substantial burden of multiple material needs during the pandemic which were associated with elevated levels of mental distress. Results speak to the need to advance mental health equity by addressing access to material needs and mental healthcare for marginalized populations, particularly during health emergencies that threaten already-precarious social safety nets and healthcare infrastructure
Lessons Learned Implementing Syringe Services Programs at Rural Health Departments in Kentucky
Public support for reinvesting resources from enforcing drug possession to health-promoting alternatives
Mental health and HIV risk differs by co-occurring structural vulnerabilities among women who sell sex
Female sex workers (FSW) experience many structural vulnerabilities (SV; e.g., violence, economic insecurity) which contribute to increased risk of HIV and mental distress. However, little research has examined how SV co-occur to shape HIV risk, and none have studied mental distress. Among FSW (n = 385) in Baltimore, Maryland, latent class analysis of five binary indicators (housing insecurity; financial dependence on others; client-perpetrated p…
Severity of Post-traumatic Stress and Non-medical, Concomitant Opioid and Benzodiazepine Use in a Sample of Women at High Risk of Overdose
Exploring trauma and wellbeing of people who use drugs after witnessing overdose
Who Asks About HIV/STI Status
Understanding the longitudinal relationship between substance use and violent victimization among street-based women who exchange sex in Baltimore, Maryland
The role of local business employees and community members in the HIV risk environment of female sex workers in an urban setting
Results show that both actors play important roles in FSWs' HIV risk environment. Businesses and community members are important targets for holistic HIV prevention interventions among FSW in communities where they coexist in close proximity
Patterns of Sex Work Client Solicitation Settings and Associations with HIV/STI Risk Among a Cohort of Female Sex Workers in Baltimore, Maryland
Conceptualizing overdose trauma
Barriers and facilitators to retaining a cohort of street-based cisgender female sex workers recruited in Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Retention of street-based female sex workers required the simultaneous use of diverse retention strategies that were tailored to participant characteristics. With familiarity of the dynamic nature of the study population characteristics, resources can be appropriately allocated to strategies most likely to result in successful retention
Resilience among Cisgender and Transgender Women in Street-Based Sex Work in Baltimore, Maryland
Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Construct Validity of the Internalized Sex Work Stigma Scale among a Cohort of Cisgender Female Sex Workers in Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Internalized sex work stigma among cisgender female sex workers (FSW) is produced within contexts of social marginalization and associated with a range of ill-effects, including psychological distress, and lower rates of healthcare-seeking. This study seeks to uncover latent domains of the new Internalized Sex Work Stigma Scale (ISWSS) using data from 367 FSW in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. The sample was 56% white with high substance use (82% smoke…
Acceptability of microbicidal vaginal rings and oral pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention among female sex workers in a high-prevalence US city
Biomedical HIV prevention tools including oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and vaginal microbicidal rings hold unique value for high-risk women who may have limited capacity for condom negotiation, including the key populations of sex workers and drug users. Commercial sex is a PrEP indicator in CDC guidelines, yet little is known about female sex workers' (FSWs) knowledge of and attitudes toward PrEP or the recently developed monthly vaginal…
A brief, trauma-informed intervention increases safety behavior and reduces HIV risk for drug-involved women who trade sex
Addressing violence in the context of HIV prevention is feasible, acceptable to FSWs, and can improve safety and reduce HIV risk, thus supporting FSW health and human rights
Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Construct Validity of the Internalized Sex Work Stigma Scale among a Cohort of Cisgender Female Sex Workers in Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Internalized sex work stigma among cisgender female sex workers (FSW) is produced within contexts of social marginalization and associated with a range of ill-effects, including psychological distress, and lower rates of healthcare-seeking. This study seeks to uncover latent domains of the new Internalized Sex Work Stigma Scale (ISWSS) using data from 367 FSW in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. The sample was 56% white with high substance use (82% smoke…
Acceptability of microbicidal vaginal rings and oral pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention among female sex workers in a high-prevalence US city
Biomedical HIV prevention tools including oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and vaginal microbicidal rings hold unique value for high-risk women who may have limited capacity for condom negotiation, including the key populations of sex workers and drug users. Commercial sex is a PrEP indicator in CDC guidelines, yet little is known about female sex workers' (FSWs) knowledge of and attitudes toward PrEP or the recently developed monthly vaginal…
A brief, trauma-informed intervention increases safety behavior and reduces HIV risk for drug-involved women who trade sex
Addressing violence in the context of HIV prevention is feasible, acceptable to FSWs, and can improve safety and reduce HIV risk, thus supporting FSW health and human rights
Barriers and facilitators to retaining a cohort of street-based cisgender female sex workers recruited in Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Retention of street-based female sex workers required the simultaneous use of diverse retention strategies that were tailored to participant characteristics. With familiarity of the dynamic nature of the study population characteristics, resources can be appropriately allocated to strategies most likely to result in successful retention
Resilience among Cisgender and Transgender Women in Street-Based Sex Work in Baltimore, Maryland
Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Construct Validity of the Internalized Sex Work Stigma Scale among a Cohort of Cisgender Female Sex Workers in Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Internalized sex work stigma among cisgender female sex workers (FSW) is produced within contexts of social marginalization and associated with a range of ill-effects, including psychological distress, and lower rates of healthcare-seeking. This study seeks to uncover latent domains of the new Internalized Sex Work Stigma Scale (ISWSS) using data from 367 FSW in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. The sample was 56% white with high substance use (82% smoke…
The role of local business employees and community members in the HIV risk environment of female sex workers in an urban setting
Results show that both actors play important roles in FSWs' HIV risk environment. Businesses and community members are important targets for holistic HIV prevention interventions among FSW in communities where they coexist in close proximity
Patterns of Sex Work Client Solicitation Settings and Associations with HIV/STI Risk Among a Cohort of Female Sex Workers in Baltimore, Maryland
Conceptualizing overdose trauma
Who Asks About HIV/STI Status
Understanding the longitudinal relationship between substance use and violent victimization among street-based women who exchange sex in Baltimore, Maryland
Mental health and HIV risk differs by co-occurring structural vulnerabilities among women who sell sex
Female sex workers (FSW) experience many structural vulnerabilities (SV; e.g., violence, economic insecurity) which contribute to increased risk of HIV and mental distress. However, little research has examined how SV co-occur to shape HIV risk, and none have studied mental distress. Among FSW (n = 385) in Baltimore, Maryland, latent class analysis of five binary indicators (housing insecurity; financial dependence on others; client-perpetrated p…
Severity of Post-traumatic Stress and Non-medical, Concomitant Opioid and Benzodiazepine Use in a Sample of Women at High Risk of Overdose
Exploring trauma and wellbeing of people who use drugs after witnessing overdose
Strategies and Interventions Used to Prevent Violence Against Sex Workers in the United States
Structural factors in the United States, such as criminalization, contribute to disproportionate rates of violence against sex workers and subsequent risk of adverse health outcomes. There is a clear need for systemic interventions and risk reduction strategies to reduce violence in this population. To inform next steps in prevention, this scoping review provides an overview of the literature on violence prevention efforts targeting sex workers i…
Multiple material need insecurities and severity of psychological distress during the Covid-19 pandemic among women who use drugs
WWUD experienced a substantial burden of multiple material needs during the pandemic which were associated with elevated levels of mental distress. Results speak to the need to advance mental health equity by addressing access to material needs and mental healthcare for marginalized populations, particularly during health emergencies that threaten already-precarious social safety nets and healthcare infrastructure
Lessons Learned Implementing Syringe Services Programs at Rural Health Departments in Kentucky
Public support for reinvesting resources from enforcing drug possession to health-promoting alternatives
Examining the association between psychological resilience and chronic versus discrete stressors among individuals who use opioids in Baltimore, Maryland
Gentrification, policing, and potential pathways to health
The Drug Market’s Impact on the Overdose Risk Environment for Women Who Use Drugs During the Covid-19 Pandemic
Structural Vulnerability and Police Interaction among Women Who Use Drugs amid De Facto Decriminalization in Baltimore, Maryland
Exposure to criminal-legal systems, including policing, arrest, and incarceration, has deleterious effects on access to health and social services among people who use drugs. Women who use drugs (WWUD) may be especially vulnerable to policing, due to the high prevalence of sex work among them, which is also a criminalized behavior. Recent epidemiologic events and policy reforms are thought to have reduced exposure to arrests for low-level, non-vi…
Medicine (18 works) · HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk (14 works) · Psychiatry (12 works) · Sex work and related issues (12 works) · Environmental health (10 works) · Psychology (10 works) · Public health (10 works) · Psychological intervention (9 works) · Demography (8 works) · Nursing (7 works)