SCREENING PROTOCOLS FOR IDENTIFYING VICTIMS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN AN ENGLISH-SPEAKING HEALTHCARE SETTING: A SCOPING REVIEW

Abstract

Human trafficking is a global issue with every country being affected. Victims of human trafficking endure extreme and prolonged psychological, physical, and sexual trauma, which often lead to healthcare facility visits while in captivity. It is estimated that 28% of human trafficking victims come into contact with a healthcare professional, yet few victims are detected in the healthcare setting. The aims of this study were, therefore, to summarize and compare English screening protocol literature, disseminate the most effective screening questions in a format easily accessible to healthcare providers, and to identify gaps in the literature. Research about utilizing trafficking screening protocols in a healthcare setting is a relatively new phenomenon since trafficking has been traditionally framed as a security matter rather than a health matter. A scoping review was conducted using the five-stage Arksey and O’Malley (2005) framework with revisions from Daudt, van Mossel, and Scott (2013), and Levac, Colquhoun and O’Brien (2010). Findings were summarized thematically: 1) pre-screening, 2) screening questions, 3) post-screening, and 4) training. Twenty-nine sources were included of 325 identified with most (68.97%) being published in the United States. There was only one validated screening protocol: 94.12% of screening protocols lacked scientific reasoning for chosen questions. With limited access to evidence-based screening protocols, healthcare professionals globally may be using outdated screening questions that are less effective when trying to identify trafficking victims.