Publications

Stigma and discrimination| Syndemics| Precarity| Social networks| Policy| Violence and adversity| Ethics

1. Stigma and discrimination

  1. Impact of HIV-related stigma on HIV treatment adherence: systematic review, meta-synthesis, and conceptual model
    Katz IT, Ryu AE, Onuegbu AG, Psaros C, Weiser SD, Bangsberg DR, Tsai AC
    J Int AIDS Soc. 2013 Nov 13;16(Suppl 2):18640.
    DOI PMID: 24242258 PMCID: PMC3833107
  2. The causal effect of education on HIV stigma in Uganda: evidence from a natural experiment
    Tsai AC, Venkataramani AS
    Soc Sci Med. 2015 Oct;142:37–46.
    DOI PMID: 26282707 PMCID: PMC4565735
  3. The social network context of HIV stigma: population-based, sociocentric network study in rural Uganda
    Takada S, Nyakato V, Nishi A, O’Malley AJ, Kakuhikire B, Perkins JM, Bangsberg DR, Christakis NA, Tsai AC
    Soc Sci Med. 2019 Jul;233:229–236.
    DOI PMID: 31229909 PMCID: PMC6827718
  4. Stigma as a fundamental hindrance to the U.S. opioid overdose crisis response
    Tsai AC, Kiang MV, Barnett ML, Beletsky L, Keyes KM, McGinty EE, Smith LR, Strathdee S, Wakeman SE, Venkataramani AS
    PLoS Med. 2019 Nov 26;16(11):e1002969.
    DOI PMID: 31770387 PMCID: PMC6957118
  5. An agricultural livelihood intervention is associated with reduced HIV stigma among people living with HIV
    Weiser SD, Sheira LA, Weke E, Zakaras JM, Wekesa P, Frongillo EA, Burger RL, Mocello AR, Thirumurthy H, Dworkin SL, Tsai AC, Kahn JG, Butler L, Bukusi EA, Cohen CR
    AIDS. 2024 Aug 1;38(10):1553–1559.
    DOI PMID: 38752558 PMCID: PMC12439198

2. Syndemics

  1. Syndemics of psychosocial problems and HIV risk: a systematic review of empirical tests of the disease interaction concept
    Tsai AC, Burns BF
    Soc Sci Med. 2015 Aug;139:26–35.
    DOI PMID: 26150065 PMCID: PMC4519429
  2. Co-occurring epidemics, syndemics, and population health
    Tsai AC, Mendenhall E, Trostle JA, Kawachi I
    Lancet. 2017 Mar 4;389(10072):978–982.
    DOI PMID: 28271848 PMCID: PMC5972361
  3. Syndemics: a theory in search of data or data in search of a theory?
    Tsai AC
    Soc Sci Med. 2018 Jun;206:117–122.
    DOI PMID: 29628175 PMCID: PMC6613368
  4. A mixed-methods, population-based study of a syndemic in Soweto, South Africa
    Mendenhall E, Kim AW, Panasci A, Cele L, Mpondo F, Bosire EN, Norris SA, Tsai AC
    Nat Hum Behav. 2022 Jan;6(1):64–73.
    DOI PMID: 34949783 PMCID: PMC8799501
  5. Syndemics and clinical science
    Mendenhall E, Kohrt BA, Logie CH, Tsai AC
    Nat Med. 2022 Jul;28(7):1359–1362.
    DOI PMID: 35864249

3. Precarity

  1. Food insecurity, depression and the modifying role of social support among people living with HIV/AIDS in rural Uganda
    Tsai AC, Bangsberg DR, Frongillo EA, Hunt PW, Muzoora C, Martin JN, Weiser SD
    Soc Sci Med. 2012 Jun;74(12):2012–2019.
    DOI PMID: 22513248 PMCID: PMC3348339
  2. Food insecurity and its association with co-occurring postnatal depression, hazardous drinking, and suicidality among women in peri-urban South Africa
    Dewing S, Tomlinson M, le Roux IM, Chopra M, Tsai AC
    J Affect Disord. 2013 Sep 5;150(2):460-5.
    DOI PMID: 23707034 PMCID: PMC3762324
  3. Home foreclosure, health, and mental health: a systematic review of individual, aggregate, and contextual associations
    Tsai AC
    PLoS One. 2015 Apr 7;10(4):e0123182.
    DOI PMID: 25849962 PMCID: PMC4388711
  4. “When you have no water, it means you have no peace”: a mixed-methods, population-based study of water insecurity and depression in rural Uganda
    Mushavi R, Burns BFO, Kakuhikire B, Owembabazi M, Vořechovská D, McDonough AQ, Cooper-Vince CE, Baguma C, Rasmussen JD, Bangsberg DR, Tsai AC
    Soc Sci Med. 2020 Jan;245:112561.
    DOI PMID: 31790879 PMCID: PMC6936324
  5. Patterns of social determinants of health and child mental health, cognition, and physical health
    Xiao Y, Mann JJ, Chow JC, Brown TT, Snowden LR, Yip PS, Tsai AC, Hou Y, Pathak J, Wang F, Su C
    JAMA Pediatr. 2023 Dec 1;177(12):1294–1305.
    DOI PMID: 37843837 PMCID: PMC10580157

4. Social networks, social integration, and social norms

  1. Social integration and suicide mortality among men: 24-year cohort study of U.S. health professionals
    Tsai† AC, Lucas† M, Sania A, Kim D, Kawachi I
    Ann Intern Med. 2014 Jul 15;161(2):85–95.
    DOI PMID: 25023247 PMCID: PMC4137390
  2. Association between religious service attendance and lower suicide rates among U.S. women
    VanderWeele TJ, Li S, Tsai AC, Kawachi I
    JAMA Psychiatry. 2016 Aug;73(8):845–851.
    DOI PMID: 27367927 PMCID: PMC7228478
  3. Using social networks to understand and overcome implementation barriers in the global HIV response
    Harling G, Tsai AC
    J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2019 Dec;82 Suppl 3(Suppl 3):S244-S252.
    DOI PMID: 31764260 PMCID: PMC6923140
  4. Social networks and HIV treatment adherence among people with HIV initiating treatment in rural Uganda and peri-urban South Africa
    Comfort AB, Asiimwe S, Amanyire G, Orrell C, Moody J, Musinguzi N, Bwana MB, Bangsberg DR, Haberer JE, Tsai AC, META Study Investigators
    SSM Popul Health. 2024 Mar;25:101593.
    DOI PMID: 38292051 PMCID: PMC10825562
  5. Social influence on women’s contraceptive use: population-based, sociocentric network study in rural Uganda
    Comfort† AB, Piombo† SE, Moody J, Baguma C, Kakuhikire B, Atukunda E, Satinsky EN, Juliet M, Namara EB, Ahereza P, Harper CC, Tsai AC
    Soc Sci Med. 2026 Jun;399:119145.
    DOI PMID: 41895106 PMCID: PMC13225724

5. Health, economic, and social policy

  1. Health consequences of the US Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) immigration programme: a quasi-experimental study
    Venkataramani AS, Shah SJ, O’Brien R, Kawachi I, Tsai AC
    Lancet Public Health. 2017 Apr;2(4):e175–e181.
    DOI PMID: 29253449 PMCID: PMC6378686
  2. Police killings and their spillover effects on the mental health of black Americans: a population-based, quasi-experimental study
    Bor† J, Venkataramani† AS, Williams D, Tsai AC
    Lancet. 2018 Jul 28;392(10144):302–310.
    DOI PMID: 29937193 PMCID: PMC6376989
  3. College affirmative action bans and smoking and alcohol use among underrepresented minority adolescents in the United States: a difference-in-differences study
    Venkataramani AS, Cook E, O’Brien RL, Kawachi I, Jena AB, Tsai AC
    PLoS Med. 2019 Jun 18;16(6):e1002821.
    DOI PMID: 31211777 PMCID: PMC6581254
  4. Association between automotive assembly plant closures and opioid overdose mortality in the United States: a difference-in-differences analysis
    Venkataramani AS, Bair EF, O’Brien RL, Tsai AC
    JAMA Intern Med. 2020 Feb;180(2):254–262.
    DOI PMID: 31886844 PMCID: PMC6990761
  5. Declining life expectancy in the United States: the need for social policy as health policy
    Venkataramani AS, O’Brien R, Tsai AC
    JAMA. 2021 Feb 16;325(7):621–622.
    DOI PMID: 33591352

6. Violence and adversity

  1. Proximate context of gender-unequal norms and women’s HIV risk in sub-Saharan Africa
    Tsai AC, Subramanian SV
    AIDS. 2012 Jan 28;26(3):381-6.
    DOI PMID: 22045344 PMCID: PMC4565190
  2. Medical evidence of human rights violations against non-Arabic-speaking civilians in Darfur: a cross-sectional study
    Tsai† AC, Eisa† MA, Crosby SS, Sirkin S, Heisler M, Leaning J, Iacopino V
    PLoS Med. 2012 Apr 3;9(4):e1001198.
    DOI PMID: 22509136 PMCID: PMC3317898
  3. Violent victimization, mental health, and service utilization outcomes in a cohort of homeless and unstably housed women living with or at risk of becoming infected with HIV
    Tsai AC, Weiser SD, Dilworth S, Shumway M, Riley ED
    Am J Epidemiol. 2015 May 15;181(10):817–826.
    DOI PMID: 25834138 PMCID: PMC4423526
  4. Adverse childhood experiences, adult depression, and suicidal ideation in rural Uganda: a cross-sectional, population-based study
    Satinsky EN, Kakuhikire B, Baguma C, Rasmussen JD, Ashaba S, Cooper-Vince CE, Perkins JM, Kiconco A, Namara EB, Bangsberg DR, Tsai AC
    PLoS Med. 2021 May 12;18(5):e1003642.
    DOI PMID: 33979329 PMCID: PMC8153443
  5. Perceived norms, social network exposure, and physical discipline of children: sociocentric network study of caregivers in rural Uganda
    Satinsky EN, Kakuhikire B, Baguma C, Sowell Van Dyk S, Namara EB, Ahereza P, Ayebare P, Ashaba S, Comfort AB, Tsai AC, Perkins JM
    Child Abuse Negl. 2026 Nov;181:108294.
    DOI PMID: 42715930

7. Ethics and scientific integrity

  1. Conflicts between commercial and scientific interests in pharmaceutical advertising for medical journals
    Tsai AC
    Int J Health Serv. 2003;33(4):751–768.
    DOI PMID: 14758858 PMCID: PMC3235690
  2. Promises and pitfalls of data sharing in qualitative research
    Tsai AC, Kohrt BA, Matthews LT, Betancourt TS, Lee JK, Papachristos AV, Weiser SD, Dworkin SL
    Soc Sci Med. 2016 Nov;169:191–198.
    DOI PMID: 27535900 PMCID: PMC5491836
  3. Protecting and promoting editorial independence
    Bhui K, O’Brien A, Upthegrove R, Tsai AC, Soomro M, Newton-Howes G, Broome MR, Forrester A, Casey P, Doherty AM, Lee W, Kaufman KR
    Br J Psychiatry. 2025 Jan;226(1):4–6.
    DOI PMID: 38356355
    Preprint version: Bhui K, O’Brien A, Upthegrove R, Tsai AC, Soomro M, Howes GN, Broome MR, Forrester A, Casey P, Doherty A, Lee W, Kaufman K. Editorial independence is dead, long live editorial independence: principles, compliance, and recommendations. PsyArXiv. 7 Jun 2023. doi:10.31234/osf.io/eau6r
  4. What breaks when federal commitments break: comment on Beccia et al
    Tsai AC
    SSM Ment Health. 2026 Jun;9:100612.
    DOI PMID: 42079033 PMCID: PMC13132510
  5. Inside the meat locker: anticipatory self-censorship and pressure on the vocabulary of American science
    Tsai AC
    SSM Ment Health. 2026 Dec;10:100696.
    DOI