Human trafficking education: A guide for nurse educators

The Effectiveness of a Human Trafficking Protocol in the Emergency Department: A 5-Year Retrospective Analysis

BACKGROUND

Human trafficking affects nearly 1.1 million persons in the United States. Over 50% of victims will receive care in an emergency department (ED) during their exploitation.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a human trafficking protocol and electronic medical record screening and assessment tool in identifying victims of human trafficking in the ED.

METHODS

A 5-year, retrospective chart audit was conducted.

RESULTS

Over 2 million ED visits occurred during the 5-year study period. Less than 1% (n = 525) of those patients screened positive as potential victims, while 45 (8.6%) were confirmed trafficking victims. The number of victims identified dropped following the pandemic.

CONCLUSIONS

Pandemic issues, staffing turnover, and lack of ongoing trafficking education impeded the identification of victims. Recommended changes to the protocol are presented.

Prevention and Intervention Strategies for the Sexual Abuse and Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children Who Run Away from Foster Care: A Scoping Review

Literature on human trafficking suggests the vulnerability to commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) and child sexual abuse (CSA) changes by the prevalence of certain risk factors (e.g., runaway), trafficker-used lures (e.g., isolation), and the environmental conditions present at the time of victimization (e.g., foster care). Often, youth in foster care are at high risk for CSEC and CSA victimization associated with runaway instances. This scoping review aims to identify prevention and intervention strategies for CSEC/CSA of youth who run away from foster care. PRISMA scoping review guidelines were followed to review the literature across two search parameters (CSEC; CSA). An electronic review was conducted between August 2022 and January 2023 across four databases: PubMed, SAGE Journals Online, ScienceDirect, and Web of Science. The CSEC and CSA search parameters comprised three domains (sexual exploitation, foster care, and runaway; sexual abuse, foster care, and runaway, respectively). Literature published between 2012 and 2022 was included regardless of the methodological approach. Literature not concerning youth who run from foster care was excluded. Database searches yielded 206 publications for CSEC and 351 for CSA, reduced to 185 and 212, respectively, after removing duplicates. Seventy-one articles were identified, of which, 64 articles (28 CSEC, 36 CSA) were categorized as prevention strategies and seven (five CSEC, two CSA) as interventions. The intersection and dual victimization of CSEC and CSA of youth who run away from foster care are discussed. This paper also discusses applied behavior analysis principles for developing function-based interventions.

Evaluation of a Human Trafficking Educational Intervention for Nursing Professionals

BACKGROUND

Human trafficking (HT) is a serious public health issue. Survivors of HT seek medical care. Health care professionals may be inadequately trained to identify and support survivors. This study evaluated improvements in nurses' knowledge after a professional development workshop on HT.

METHOD

Pre- and postevaluation surveys assessed nurses' self-reported changes in perceived knowledge of HT and its vulnerability factors, the health impact of HT, strategies for identification and assessment of HT, and response to and follow-up of HT.

RESULTS

After the workshop, participants showed significant improvement in perceived knowledge of all measures, regardless of hours of previous training and years of practice.

CONCLUSION

Perceived knowledge of HT identification and response can be improved through training of nurses, regardless of hours of previous training and years of practice. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2024;55(1):26-32.].

A simulated pedagogical intervention to educate nurse practitioner students about human trafficking

ABSTRACT

Human trafficking (HT) affects an estimated 40.3 million people globally with 24.9 million people affected in forced labor and 4.8 million in forced sexual exploitation. An estimated 18,000 people are trafficked yearly into the United States. Reports suggest that between 63% and 87% of trafficked persons were seen by health care professionals and were unrecognized while in captivity. The authors designed and implemented an innovative pedagogical intervention for nurse practitioner (NP) students using a 10-min simulation-based education encounter with a standardized patient depicting a potential sex or labor HT clinical presentation. Results demonstrated that simulation-based education is a feasible way to provide HT education to NP students. It is imperative that future NPs receive education/training about HT to recognize potential victims and promote access to appropriate resources.

Human Trafficking Education: An Asynchronous Approach to Improve Nurses' Knowledge and Application

Nurses as healthcare professionals are in key positions to identify trafficked persons. Assessment of nurse knowledge shows the benefit of using asynchronous human trafficking education as a means for learning. Recommendations from this study for professional development educators include garnishing nurse executive support and use of case-study, evidence-based approaches. Support for state-mandated human trafficking education requirements for initial and ongoing licensure of nurses is necessary as human trafficking knowledge may decrease over time.

An examination of nurse educators' Knowledge, Attitudes, Instructional Beliefs, and Instructional Practices of human trafficking

BACKGROUND

Delivering human trafficking education to nursing students may improve graduates' ability to identify and assist persons victimized by trafficking. A paucity of research has examined human trafficking as a content area in academic nursing programs as well as nurse educators' understanding and teaching practices of human trafficking.

PURPOSE

This study sought to (a) describe nurse educators' perceived knowledge, actual knowledge, attitudes, instructional beliefs, and instructional practices of human trafficking; (b) determine if differences in actual knowledge, attitudes, and instructional beliefs of human trafficking exist among nurse educators who have experience teaching about human trafficking compared to nurse educators who have never taught about human trafficking; and (c) determine if differences in actual knowledge, attitudes, and instructional beliefs exist among nurse educators who have received human trafficking training compared to nurse educators who have not received human trafficking training.

METHOD

A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted using survey methodology. A nationwide sample of 332 academic nurse educators was analyzed.

RESULTS

Findings among nurse educators included low perceived knowledge levels and strong actual knowledge levels about human trafficking. Participants held awareness they may encounter trafficked individuals in the workplace and expressed responsibility to respond to suspected cases. However, participants reported having received insufficient training on the topic and low confidence responding to trafficking situations. While nurse educators find relevance and value in teaching students about human trafficking, most do not have personal experience teaching about human trafficking or feel confident teaching on the topic.

CONCLUSION

This study provides preliminary knowledge of nurse educators' understanding and teaching practices of human trafficking. Findings from this study offer implications for nurse educators and program administrators to improve human trafficking training among nursing faculty and integrate human trafficking education into curricula.

Researching the Effectiveness of an Online Human Trafficking Awareness Program Among Community Health Nursing Students

PURPOSE

To evaluate the effectiveness of an online human trafficking awareness program for healthcare providers.

DESIGN

Mixed-methods study.

METHODS

Sample (N=141) consisted of community health nursing students, who completed a pretest, watched one three-minute video a day for 20 days, and completed a posttest.

FINDINGS

Participants indicated their knowledge of human trafficking increased, attitudes toward victims improved, and competence and confidence engaging with victims increased. Satisfaction with program, and information utilization plans for practice were revealed.

CONCLUSIONS

Human trafficking awareness program was effective in increasing participants' knowledge, competence and confidence, and improving attitudes.

CLINICAL EVIDENCE

Educational intervention is a strategy to improve students' knowledge of human trafficking.

Digital training in the wake of a pandemic: Using technology to train health care professionals in the identification of human trafficking victims

Human trafficking training is crucial for victim identification and appropriate service provision in health care settings. Over the past decade, the health care profession has made significant strides in the education and training of health professionals. However, access to quality training is still varied, and a unified education program has not been established. At best, educational programs are uneven in their goals and standards. Further complicating matters, amid the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing regulations, in-person training has been less optimal. To provide all health care professionals with much-needed education on human trafficking identification and service provision, the authors recommend that human trafficking trainings incorporate online platforms and provide justification from the literature for this recommendation. The authors contend that virtual training programs provide easy access and provide a convenient platform for health care professionals to broaden their knowledge and awareness of the unique demands and challenges that trafficked persons encounter.

Nursing students' perceptions of identifying and managing sex trafficking cases: A focus group study

AIM

To explore nursing students' perceptions of the identification and medical care of sex trafficking victims and how to improve the care provided based on the identified barriers.

BACKGROUND

Despite the fact that more than 87% of sex trafficking victims establish contact with health professionals, their lack of awareness and training hinders their ability to assist victims properly.

METHODS

A descriptive qualitative study was carried out using 11 focus groups of nursing students after a simulated case of sex trafficking victim. The analysis of results was conducted through content analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 110 fourth-year nursing students participated in this study. After performing the data analysis, three main categories emerged: (i) making a health issue visible, (ii) identifying sex trafficking victims: resources based on evidence-based practice, and (iii) educational resources on sex trafficking in nursing degree.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results show that through clinical simulation, integrating content regarding the medical care of vulnerable groups can be useful for developing the skills necessary to provide effective care from a trauma-informed approach.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT

Health institutions, senior charge nurses, and other health service managers should be aware of the current need for sex trafficking training, structural-level changes, and updated evidence-based guidelines and protocols with other service providers and law enforcement to provide high-quality care.