Date of Award

Summer 2021

Document Type

Project – Full Written

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Committee Chair

Tracy Arnold

Abstract

Human trafficking (HT) is a public health crisis and the need for education is dire. Healthcare providers lack confidence in victim recognition and aid provision all while encountering victims in their practice. The project leader aimed to empower healthcare providers in recognizing signs of HT and making appropriate referrals. Ten community volunteers, including registered nurses, who assist with a mobile medical unit and spiritual 12-step program, participated in a Human Trafficking 101 training. The application of holistic nursing core principles and Human Caring Science was integrated as vital in victim identification. A pretest posttest design was utilized to administer the Perceived Competence Scale. A significant increase from pretest to posttest scores was found (t(9) = -6.567, p < .05) in HT risk and signs identification, making referrals, and screening tool use. The participants also maintained a log documenting the number of times the screening tool and/or education gained from the training were used over a three-month period. The log did not reveal any identified victims at the conclusion of the three-month period. A well-designed training can significantly increase knowledge in medical and non-medical audiences. Nurses should extend training beyond traditional healthcare settings by reaching volunteers serving vulnerable populations.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License

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