The Role of Nursing in the School Setting to Lead Efforts to Impact Child Trafficking: An Integrative Review

Abstract

Registered professional and advanced practice nurses in the school setting, as a specialized practice entity, are leaders in implementation of evidence-based practice, skilled coordinators of care, advocates for students, and experts in designing systems assisting individuals and communities to reach full potential. Child trafficking (CT) is an emerging public health threat impacting safety and well-being of students present in the school setting. This literature review identified four themes in five studies: (1) training impacts nurses’ knowledge, awareness, and attitudes; (2) school nursing is underrepresented in training, education, prevention, response, and research; (3) lack of collaboration exists between school staff and school nurses; and (4) formal education and length of experience impact levels of interventions school nurses are able to provide. School nurses are opportunely situated to intervene as advocates for vulnerable children to develop a coordinated, effective response to CT risk factors, mitigating risk and fostering resiliency with systems-based change.

Child Trafficking: What School Nurses Need to Know

“…Child trafficking is a pervasive and underreported public health threat directly impacting the health, safety, and well-being of students throughout United States (Doiron & Peck, 2022). The U.S.…”

“…Schools are safe places for students, particularly those who face insecurity or instability, and are well positioned to facilitate the identification and reporting of trafficking cases (NCSSLE, 2021). School nurses, the healthcare professionals in these settings, are in an auspicious position to intervene as advocates for vulnerable children and employ a coordinated, effective response to child trafficking risk factors (Doiron & Peck, 2022).…”

“…Toolkit Implementation . School nurses should gather and synthesize child trafficking resources, policies, procedures, and guidelines encompassing education and health services within school settings (Doiron & Peck, 2022). The USDHHS’s (2023) Toolkit for Building a Human Trafficking School Safety Protocol ( HTSSP ) was recently released to guide the creation and implementation of collaborative, coordinated, widespread response efforts.…”

“…School nurses possess the skills necessary and are ideally situated to partner with doctoral-prepared nurses to help lead antitrafficking efforts and systematic changes (Doiron & Peck, 2022). Key considerations for crafting and enacting an antitrafficking protocol include forming interprofessional teams as a comprehensive, multidisciplinary response essential for student care and timely referrals.…”

The Journal of School Nursing/SAGE Writing Awards

“…A podcast of Drs. Doiron and Peck discussing their publication is available from SAGE (Bergren, 2022) Dr. Doiron has extensive experience as a registered nurse providing care to neonates in the newborn nursery, transition nursery, and various level neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) for over 16 years. She recently transitioned her clinical care to an advanced NNP role to expand the services she provides for her patients.…”