Research indicates a lack of knowledge about posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and its treatment among the general public and those with symptoms. Assuming that knowledge sharing through social networks can increase the possibility of social change, in this longitudinal study, using a case study of a social innovation project in Iran, we explain the role of social innovation in solving the PTSD of the population of female sex workers. First, we aim to understand the impact of social innovation interventions on knowledge sharing. Second, we want to explore whether opinion leaders can effectively encourage members to see a psychologist. We formed a group of women sex workers, and after semi-structured interviews and using social network analysis (SNA) tools and Gephi software, we identified the opinion leaders and held educational workshops. Using the Goldberg and PLC-5 questionnaires, we assessed mental health and PTSD rates, and then we checked the changes in their condition before and after the intervention by testing paired samples. We conducted interviews with a total of 165 sex workers and the results showed that 21% of the studied women had PTSD disorder. After the intervention, 5.4% of the network members visited a psychologist. Network density increased by 21.26%, average mental health score decreased by 11.38%, and average PTSD score decreased by 7.23%. Based on the experimental results, we showed how the number of interactions and, subsequently, knowledge sharing in a network can be expanded by amplification of the communication skills of the opinion leaders as a social innovation intervention. Knowledge sharing led to a change in the behavior of group members and led them to participate in mental health programs. This study is one of the few studies that have examined the role of social innovation in improving mental health.
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