You Might Also Like

• Recognizing Human Trafficking Victims as Patients in the ED
• Tips for Recognizing, Treating, and Reporting Child Sex Trafficking in the Emergency Department
• The Complexities of Recognizing and Responding to Trafficked Patients in the ED

Explore This Issue

ACEP Now: Vol 41 – No 04 – April 2022

Figure 2: RAFT Tool of Questions

In the often-hectic environment of the ED, it is no surprise that sex trafficking victims so often slip through the cracks. However, there are feasible steps that can be taken to ensure ED staff are properly trained and have the necessary tools to identify and assist victims.

DR. POURMAND is director of digital media and professor of emergency medicine at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. MS. MARCINKOWSKI is a medical student at The George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences.

References

1. Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000. U.S. Department of State. .
2. Hotline statistics. National Human Trafficking Hotline.
3. Chisolm-Straker M, Baldwin S, Gaïgbé-Togbé B, et al. Health care and human trafficking: we are seeing the unseen. J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2016;27(3):1220-1233.
4. Lederer LJ, Wetzel CA. The health consequences of sex trafficking and their implications for identifying victims in healthcare facilities. Ann Health Law. 2014;23:61.
5. Human trafficking. ACEP. 2020 Feb.
6. Chisolm-Straker M, Richardson LD, Cossio T. Combating slavery in the 21st century: the role of emergency medicine. J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2012;23(3):980-987.
7. Cole MA, Daniel M, Chisolm-Straker M, et al. A theory-based didactic offering physicians a method for learning and teaching others about human Trafficking. AEM Educ Train. 2018;2(Suppl Suppl 1):S25-S30.
8. Donahue S, Schwien M, LaVallee D. Educating emergency department staff on the identification and treatment of human trafficking victims. J Emerg Nurs. 2019;45(1):16-23.
9. Egyud A, Stephens K, Swanson-Bierman B, et al. Implementation of human trafficking education and treatment algorithm in the emergency department. J Emerg Nurs. 2017;43(6):526-531.
10. Harlow AF, Rothman EF, Dyer S, et al. EMS professionals: critical partners in human trafficking response. Emerg Med J. 2019;36(10):641.
11. Ma K, Ali J, Deutscher J, et al. Preparing residents to deal with human trafficking. Clin Teach. 2020;17(6):674-679.
12. Scannell M, Conso J. Using sexual assault training to improve human trafficking education. Nursing. 2020;50(5):15-17.
13. Schwarz C, Unruh E, Cronin K, et al. Human trafficking identification and service provision in the medical and social service sectors. Health Hum Rights. 2016;18(1):181-192.
14. Kaltiso SAO, Greenbaum VJ, Agarwal M, et al. Evaluation of a screening tool for child sex trafficking among patients with high-risk chief complaints in a pediatric emergency department. Acad Emerg Med. 2018;25(11):1193-1203.
15. Chisolm-Straker M, Singer E, Strong D, et al. Validation of a screening tool for labor and sex trafficking among emergency department patients. J Am Coll Emerg Physicians Open. 2021;2(5):e12558.
16. Baldwin SB, Barrows J, Stoklosa H. Protocol toolkit for developing a response to victims of human trafficking. HEAL Trafficking and Hope for Justice; 2017.