A groundbreaking community-based trial has found that a self-paced mobile health (mHealth) intervention called UMAI-WINGS significantly reduced all forms of intimate partner violence (IPV) among some of Kazakhstan’s most vulnerable women, including women who use drugs, engage in sex work, live with HIV, and identify as transgender. The findings, published today in the journal Behavioral Sciences, represent the largest community-based trial of an IPV screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) model with key affected populations to date.

Key Findings

The study enrolled 508 women across two sites in Kazakhstan—Almaty City (intervention) and Almaty Oblast (waitlist control)—and assessed outcomes at baseline and six months post-intervention. After adjusting for demographic and behavioral factors, women who received the UMAI-WINGS intervention were:

• 23% less likely to report psychological IPV
• 27% less likely to report sexual IPV
• 29% less likely to report physical IPV

compared to women in the control group. Crucially, the intervention was effective across all subgroups of key affected populations, with no significant differences in outcomes among women who use drugs, women engaged in sex work, or women living with HIV.

The intervention also demonstrated high acceptability, with 81% of participants reporting satisfaction and 94% saying they would recommend it to other women. No adverse safety events were reported throughout the study.

A Crisis Demanding Action

The study underscores the scale of violence facing marginalized women in Kazakhstan. At baseline, approximately two-thirds of participants reported experiencing psychological and sexual IPV in the prior six months, and over half reported physical violence—rates dramatically higher than the national average of 27%. Many participants also faced severe socioeconomic hardship: over 40% had experienced homelessness in the past year and more than half reported food insecurity.

How UMAI-WINGS Works

UMAI-WINGS is adapted from the evidence-based WINGS (Women Initiating New Goals of Safety) model, which has been successfully implemented in the United States, Kyrgyzstan, India, and Ukraine. The mobile health tool guides women through seven core components: raising awareness about IPV, personalized risk screening, motivational interviewing, safety planning, enhancing social support, goal setting, and linkage to local services.

The intervention was culturally adapted through an iterative process involving Community Action and Accountability Boards (CAABs)—multisectoral groups comprising IPV service providers, law enforcement, NGOs serving key populations, and women with lived experience of violence. CAABs played a central role in tailoring content, building cross-sector service networks, reducing barriers to care, and ensuring sustainability.

“The community-coordinated approach was essential to this intervention’s success,” said **Dr. Louisa Gilbert**, co-investigator and Professor at the Columbia University School of Social Work. “By engaging local stakeholders at every stage—from adaptation to implementation—we built trust, expanded access to services, and created an ecosystem of support that extends far beyond the app itself. “These findings reveal both the depth of this crisis and the promise of community-driven, digital solutions.”

A Scalable Model for Global Impact

The digital, self-administered design of UMAI-WINGS makes it uniquely scalable. Women can engage with IPV education, safety planning tools, and service referrals privately from a mobile device—eliminating many logistical and safety barriers associated with traditional face-to-face programs. A built-in “safe exit” feature allows users to quickly close the tool if interrupted, and participants can choose how to receive their personalized safety plans.

“This model demonstrates that effective, evidence-based IPV prevention can be delivered at scale through mobile technology, even in low-resource, high-stigma settings,” said Dr. Sholpan Primbetova, co-Principal Investigator and researcher at the Global Health Research Center of Central Asia and Al-Farabi Kazakh National University. “It offers a blueprint for reaching women who have historically been invisible in both research and policy.”

Policy Implications

The researchers call for several policy actions based on their findings:

• Integration of routine IPV screeninginto primary health care settings, particularly for marginalized populations
• Expansion of inclusive IPV services, including shelters and legal aid, that do not discriminate against women based on HIV status, drug use history, sex work involvement, or gender identity
• Investment in community-based, multisectoral coordination modelsto bridge gaps between mainstream services and organizations serving key populations
• Increased surveillance and data collectionon IPV among key affected populations, who are routinely excluded from national surveys

About the Study

The UMAI-WINGS trial was conducted from April 2022 to December 2024 by an international research team from the Global Health Research Center of Central Asia, the Center of Scientific and Practical Initiatives (Almaty), Columbia University School of Social Work, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, the University of Washington School of Public Health, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, and community partner organizations including the Crisis Center Union and Public Foundation “Revansh.” The study was funded by the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI), with additional support from the National Institutes of Health.

Citation

Terlikbayeva, A., Primbetova, S., Gatanaga, O. S., Chang, M., Rozental, Y., Nurkatova, M., Baisakova, Z., Bilokon, Y., Karan, S. E., Dasgupta, A., & Gilbert, L. (2025). UMAI-WINGS: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Implementing mHealth Intimate Partner Violence Prevention Intervention in Reducing Intimate Partner Violence Among Women from Key Affected Populations in Kazakhstan Using a Community-Based Approach. Behavioral Sciences, 15(5), 641.

 

Contacts

Dr. Sholpan Primbetova (corresponding author)

Global Health Research Center of Central Asia / Al-Farabi Kazakh National University

Email: sholpan.primbetova@ghrcca.org

 

Dr. Assel Terlikbayeva

Center of Scientific and Practical Initiatives / Global Health Research Center of Central Asia

Email: assel.terlikbayeva@ghrcca.org

 

Dr. Louisa Gilbert

School of Social Work, Columbia University

Email: lg123@columbia.edu