Research Question: RQ 1: Is there a difference in the assessment skills of nurses trained on the identification of human trafficking victims after attending an educational training program? RQ 2: Is there a difference in reported self-efficacy by nurses trained on the identification of human trafficking victims after attending an educational training program? RQ 3: Is there a relationship between pre-education program knowledge on the identification of human trafficking victims and years of nursing experience? RQ 4: What pre-existing assumptions do nurses report regarding human trafficking victims?
Background: Human trafficking is a significant human rights violation and public health problem throughout the world. According to Gibbons and Stoklosa (2016), it is estimated there may be between 50,000 to 150,000 victims trafficked into the U.S. every year from abroad, and the number of actual reported human trafficking cases has increased from 1,000 to more than 5,000 per year. As noted by Long and Dowell (2017), “In 2015, the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) received more than 21,947 phone calls, 1,275 emails, and 1,535 online tip reports about human trafficking in the United States” (p. 2). Of all the calls to NHTRC, only 1.9% callers were medical professionals. The low number of healthcare provider calls demonstrates the need for nurses to acquire appropriate knowledge and self- efficacy for identifying possible human trafficking victims.
Sample/Methods: A pre-experimental pre-test/post-test design using a convenience sample of Registered Nurses (RNs) attending new hire nursing orientation within the large healthcare system in the Eastern U.S. The McNemar test or Wilcoxin T test will be used to determine within group differences to answer RQ1 and RQ 2. Paired t-test will be used to assess RQ 3. Descriptive data will be used to analyze the nurse’s pre-existing assumptions for RQ 4.
Results: Data collection is currently occurring and is expected to conclude by the end of November 2018.
Conclusions and Implications for Practice: Pending, study in progress. The findings from this study will describe pre-existing assumptions about human trafficking victims and demonstrate the effectiveness of focused human trafficking education on improving nurses’ knowledge and self-efficacy in identifying victims in the acute care setting.
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