Screening for Human Trafficking in the Primary Care Setting

Abstract

Human trafficking victims are often unrecognized and overlooked. Unbeknownst to the health care community, victims are being seen in provider’s offices frequently. Research has determined that healthcare providers and workers are often the only people that a human trafficking victim comes into contact with outside of their situation. This occurs predominately due to healthcare staff not knowing how to properly identify and assist with removing the victim from this way of life. In order to address this issue, a project to screen for indications of human trafficking among adult patients in a primary care setting was completed. The purpose was to implement an evidence-based human trafficking screening tool to use within the primary care setting, to identify human trafficking victims, and to help victims leave the situation if they choose. The Iowa Model was utilized as an effective framework to translate current evidence into practice. Successful completion of this DNP project provided data to evaluate the effectiveness of the screening tool in identifying patients who were victims of human trafficking in a primary care setting. It was determined that the implementation team had an improved understanding of the steps needed for identification of trafficked victims, referral options, and available resources for victims.