Shelby Perry

The Department of Homeland Security (2020), human trafficking is defined as “involving the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act” (What is Human Trafficking, 2020, p.1). Schwarz, Unruh, Cronin, Evans-Simpson, Britton, & Ramaswamy (2016) found that close to 50 percent of trafficked individuals saw a health care professional during their exploitation. Health providers play a unique role when identifying victims of trafficking and provide important physical and psychological care for victims.

This research study examined the prevalence of human trafficking training amongst healthcare professionals in New England. Over 167 healthcare professionals were surveyed. The researchers adapted the Factors Influencing Training Transfer (FITT) survey for use in this study. According to Bai, Li, Bai, Ma, Yang, and Ma (2018) found the FITT “a reliable and valid instrument” (p.8). Respondents were also asked about the format, quality, and delivery of human trafficking intervention training.

Study results indicate that 64.1% of respondents routinely see individuals who may display signs of being trafficked, Yet only 18.6% of respondents indicated that their employer offered them the opportunity to be trained in human trafficking. Additionally, 20% of respondents found their training ineffective, and 63.8% of reported training was not practice-based.

 

Results imply workforce management considerations for health administrators, specifically related to the types and format of training. Out of the 167 participants, only 15 individuals responded affirmatively to pursuing human trafficking training on their own time, which indicates the need that institutions need to mandate comprehensive training.