Taking Up the Mantle of Human Trafficking Education: Who Should Be Responsible?

Abstract

Human trafficking is a global human rights issue with long-range health consequences about which physicians are largely uneducated. Medical schools are uniquely positioned to address this gap. All future physicians, regardless of specialty, must learn to identify victims and refer them to trauma-informed treatment. Research and advocacy are needed to address the lack of rigorously evaluated curricula in this area, impact policy, and improve services for victims of this heinous form of exploitation. CaseIt's a busy summer night in the emergency department. You have seen 15 patients so far, and the fourth-year acting intern is approaching you with the sixteenth. He describes the patient as a young woman complaining of dysuria and increased urinary frequency whose history of present illness and physical exam are suggestive of cystitis. After discussing appropriate antibiotic and follow-up plans with the acting intern, you make your way to the bedside to confirm the student's findings. But before you can open the door the student stops you with additional concerns. "She seems younger than eighteen," he says, "and I get the feeling she wasn't telling me the truth about her social situation. I also noticed a few poor-quality tattoos that look homemade on physical exam. This made me suspicious, so I searched through her medical history. It looks like she's been here at least three times in the last several months for other complaints. She had a sexually transmitted infection (STI), a broken finger, and an eyebrow laceration. When I asked her about the injuries she was evasive and said she was clumsy. She seems sober now, but other physicians have noted that she was high on previous presentations. I may be way off base here, but I'm worried that she's being exploited. We learned about human trafficking last year, and this patient is showing several red flags."The student shows you some information online about the prevalence of human trafficking and its associated symptoms, and you decide to call the National Human

Medical education and human trafficking: using simulation

“…Every medical student, regardless of their chosen specialty must be able to recognize and intervene on behalf of victims, and for that reason, the authors felt that the content was best placed in the core undergraduate medical curriculum [10]. …”

“…To improve victim identification and quality of care in healthcare settings, providers need to be educated about the issue of trafficking, including its clinical presentations. The topic requires an interactive format that maximizes HCP learning, hones communications skills, and focuses on patient-centered outcomes [7,9,10]. …”

A simulated pedagogical intervention to educate nurse practitioner students about human trafficking

“…Human trafficking is also one of the largest and fastest growing forms of organized crime (United States Department of Justice, 2016). Human trafficking is a profitable crime because a person can be trafficked numerous times, unlike an illegal substance that can only be sold once (Bohnert et al, 2017). According to the United States federal law, HT is classified into two categories: sex trafficking and labor trafficking.…”