Health Care Providers’ Experience with a Protocol for the Identification, Treatment, and Referral of Human-Trafficking Victims

Authors: Stoklosa, Hanni; Showalter, Elizabeth; Melnick, Anna & Rothman, Emily

Abstract: The health care setting is thought to be one of the most promising places to identify victims of human trafficking. The present study was designed to relay the experiences of a sample of 10 health care providers and hospital administrators who developed and have used a protocol to identify victims of human trafficking since February 2014. To our knowledge, the protocol was one of the first to be adopted by any health care system in the United States. Three primary themes emerged from the participant interviews. First, developing the protocol was challenging because, at the time, there were no predecessor examples. Second, providers reported that the protocol is simple to use and victim identification is easier because of it. Third, identifying and serving victims of human trafficking remains challenging, because there is still a deficit of trained providers and a lack of community resources for survivors. The field needs evidence that this and similar protocols improve users’ knowledge and skills, result in the better identification and treatment of trafficking victims and ultimately improve public safety and public health.

Keywords: exploitation, health care protocol, human trafficking, trauma-informed care, violence victims