Human Trafficking: What Do Nurse Practitioners Know?

Purpose: As trusted health care providers, APRNs are front-line responders and should be equipped to treat and identify pediatric victims of human trafficking. Pediatric victims of human trafficking present for health care in clinics, schools, hospitals, and emergency rooms. An estimated 87% of rescued trafficking victims had encounter(s) with a healthcare provider during captivity in which they were not recognized as victims. Congruent with this finding, health care practitioners have often stated that they lack the knowledge and skills to detect potential victims of human trafficking—leading to missed opportunities for rescue and improved health outcomes for this population. In an effort to better understand the knowledge of pediatric APRNs regarding the needs of caring for potential victims of human trafficking, a survey was conducted to gather this information.

Methods: A total of 796 pediatric nurse practitioners were surveyed regarding factors related to identifying potential victims of human trafficking. Participants answered 26 questions: 6 demographic questions (such as age, years in practice, practice setting) and 20 questions regarding their awareness of and knowledge of risk factors for human trafficking in the pediatric population.

Results: Nearly the whole sample (99%) believed that knowing how to identify a potential victim of human trafficking is an important clinical skill relevant to pediatric clinical practice. While 87% of the sample believed that it is possible that they might encounter a victim of human trafficking in their practice, 35% were unsure if they had actually cared for a victim of human trafficking in their clinical practice. Of those surveyed, only 24% agreed or strongly agreed that they were confident in their ability to identify a child who is at risk for human trafficking. Slightly above 1/3 of the sample (35%) felt that they were knowledgeable about the health care needs of human trafficking victims.

Conclusion: This sample of nurse practitioners lacked confidence in their abilities to identify a child at risk for human trafficking and lacked knowledge about the health care needs of human trafficking victims. The findings from this survey will be used to develop educational and awareness initiatives aimed at APRNs who care for children so that they may optimize their ability to identify and care for victims of human trafficking. Pediatric health care professionals are uniquely equipped to intervene and advocate for these vulnerable populations in the myriad settings in which they may present.