Unveiling a Public Health Concern: Identification of Child Trafficking Victims

Child trafficking is a significant public health concern. More than 80% of trafficked victims encounter healthcare professionals during their exploitation. However, it is hard to identify the exact number of victims due to this human rights issue’s sensitive and evasive nature. Despite this issue becoming more prominent and healthcare providers being more aware, there is still a gap in translating this evidence into meaningful change in practice. Current evidence was evaluated and synthesized to produce an evidence-based approach to tackling this problem in a pediatric acute care setting. The purpose of this quality improvement project is to improve the identification of child trafficking victims through a multimodal education project and chart audit for the use of an established screening tool. Using the theoretical underpinnings of the Social Cognitive Theory and Rosswurm and Larrabee’s Model for Change helped to guide this practice change. Overall, there were improved nurse confidence and knowledge scores and a confirmed identification of a child trafficking patient post-intervention. Formal education and the use of a screening parameter may impact identification rates of child trafficking.