Abstract
The Role of Healthcare Workers in the Care of Human Trafficking Survivors
Abigail Conroy*, Addison Iszler*, Marye Lee*, Peter Palmero*, Leela Puli*, Darisel Ventura Rodriguez*, Samiksha Prasad*
*Denotes primary co-authors
Nova Southeastern University Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine (NSU MD)
INTRODUCTION: In Florida, human trafficking (HT) remains a significant public health issue affecting hundreds of victims each year. In 2019, Miami-Dade and Broward Counties reported 351 cases. More than 50% of HT victims encounter healthcare providers at some point while being exploited. For this reason, healthcare providers must be trained to recognize and treat victims of HT. The goal of this project was to educate healthcare providers and students at the Health Professions Divisions-Nova Southeastern University (HPD-NSU) on the identification of HT victims and how to provide trauma informed care to these patients.
METHODS: Our group collaborated with the University of Miami (UM)-THRIVE clinic to hold two online seminars in April of 2021. Speakers from the THRIVE clinic provided information to the audience followed by a question-and-answer session. Pre/post- session surveys were developed using validated questions modified from Liverseed (2018) to assess health professionals on confidence and knowledge in treating HT victims. These surveys were utilized to assess the efficacy of the sessions.
OUTCOMES: 17 out of 27 seminar attendees completed the surveys. There were statistically significant increases in the confidence and knowledge of participants following the presentations given by content experts from the UM-THRIVE clinic.
DISCUSSION: Sessions on the identification and treatment of HT victims have the potential to increase the confidence and knowledge of healthcare professionals. In the future, we propose the creation of a Canvas module available to all HPD-NSU students that will contain information from the two sessions conducted in this study and additional pertinent resources.
