Date
8-2020
Department
School of Nursing
Degree
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Chair
Dottie Murphy
Keywords
Health Care, Sex Trafficking, Human Trafficking, Labor Trafficking, Identify, Detect
Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences | Nursing
Recommended Citation
Castellucci, Jami Leigh, "Identification of Human Trafficking Victims in the Health Care Setting: An Integrative Review" (2020). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 2631.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/2631
Abstract
Most victims who have escaped trafficking report that during their captivity they were taken to health care facilities. Though health care–based trafficking reporting has increased over the last few years, studies show that private practices and most hospitals within the country do not have a human trafficking protocol, policy, nor educational intervention for their frontline staff to be able to identify and refer victims for short- and long-term support. The United States health care system is poised to play a large role in the fight against human trafficking. This integrative review describes the current status of human trafficking victim identification in the health care setting and common themes surrounding victim identification. Gaps in the literature and areas for further research are presented with implications for health care practice and policy. Without purposeful and targeted human trafficking identification interventions in the health care setting, victims will continue to go unrecognized.
