Human Trafficking Victim Identification, Assessment, and Intervention Strategies in South Texas Emergency Departments
| Autor: | Jean Dowling Dols, Diana Beckmann-Mendez, Jessica McDow, Michael D. Moon, Katherine Walker |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2019 |
| Předmět: |
Adult
Male Referral education Poison control Emergency Nursing Suicide prevention Occupational safety and health 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Intervention (counseling) medicine Humans 030212 general & internal medicine Child Crime Victims Sex trafficking Human factors and ergonomics 030208 emergency & critical care medicine social sciences medicine.disease Texas Triage humanities Human Trafficking Female Medical emergency Emergency Service Hospital Psychology |
| Zdroj: | Journal of Emergency Nursing. 45:622-633 |
| ISSN: | 0099-1767 |
| Popis: | Introduction Human-trafficking victims seek assistance for health issues in emergency departments. This point of contact provides an opportunity for screening and identification of the victim's situation, enabling intervention. Methods This descriptive research study was designed to identify whether a standard protocol is currently used to identify, assess, and intervene for human-trafficking victims in 47 south Texas counties. ED leaders were surveyed using a sequential set of strategies including online, e-mail, and/or phone surveys to identify the methods used in emergency departments screening for adult and child human-trafficking victims. Results Researchers surveyed 99 emergency departments in south Texas, which includes 21 counties bordering Mexico. Twenty-seven ED leaders responded (27.3%). Despite being located in an area with high rates of human trafficking, these leaders stated that few trafficking victims were identified in 2017. Eleven (40.7%) of the responding emergency departments specifically screened adults for human trafficking, and 10 (37.0%) specifically screened children for human trafficking. A variety of methods were used by each of these emergency departments to identify human-trafficking victims. Discussion The failure to recognize human-trafficking victims prevents assessment of the victim's status and further delays referral to appropriate resources. Barriers to screening for human trafficking included lack of awareness of the human-trafficking experience, need for clinical education related to evidence-based protocols, and need for validated screening instruments and standardization of processes that promote action and provide victim assistance. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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