Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-wg55d Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-10T15:29:54.603Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Human Trafficking and Emergency Medical Services (EMS)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 July 2023

Aditya C. Shekhar Open the ORCID record for Aditya C. Shekhar [Opens in a new window]  and
Wendy L. Macias-Konstantopoulos
Aditya C. Shekhar*
Affiliation:
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, New York USA Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts USA
Wendy L. Macias-Konstantopoulos
Affiliation:
Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts USA Department of Emergency Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts USA
*
Correspondence: Aditya C. Shekhar Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai New York City, New York USA E-mail: shekhar.aditya.c@gmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Human trafficking is associated with wide-ranging mental and physical morbidity, as well as mortality, in the United States and globally. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers are often first responders to victims of human trafficking. Given their proximity to patients’ social and environmental circumstances, these clinicians need to be familiar with the signs and symptoms of human trafficking, as well understand how to best provide care for suspected or confirmed trafficked patients. Evidence from multiple studies indicates that providers who have received formal training may be better able to recognize the signs and symptoms of human trafficking, and thus, can provide better care to potential victims of human trafficking. This review will summarize the relevance of human trafficking to prehospital emergency care, touch on best practices for the care of patients with suspected or confirmed ties to human trafficking, and outline future directions for education and research.

Keywords

Emergency Medical Serviceshuman traffickingprehospital caretrafficking
Type
Article Commentary
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 38 , Issue 4 , August 2023 , pp. 541 - 543
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Tyldum, G, Brunovskis, A. Describing the unobserved: methodological challenges in empirical studies on human trafficking. International Migration. 2005;43(1-2):17–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dovydaitis, T. Human trafficking: the role of the health care provider. J Midwifery Womens Health. 2010;55(5):462–467.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
De Vries, I, Dettmeijer-Vermeulen, C. Extremely wanted: human trafficking statistics—what to do with the hodgepodge of numbers? Special issue researching hidden populations: approaches to and methodologies for generating data on trafficking in persons. In: de Vries, I, Dettmeijer-Vermeulen, C. Forum on Crime and Society - Volume 8. United Nations; 2015.Google Scholar
Lamb-Susca, L, Clements, PT. Intersection of human trafficking and the emergency department. J Emerg Nurs. 2018;44(6):563–569.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Feingold, DA. Human trafficking. Foreign Policy. 2005:26–32.Google Scholar
International Labor Organization. ILO Global Estimate of Forced Labor 2012: Results and Methodology. Geneva, Switzerland: International Labor Organization, The United Nations; 2012.Google Scholar
Hachey, LM, Phillippi, JC. Identification and management of human trafficking victims in the emergency department. Adv Emerg Nurs J. 2017;39(1):31–51.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Members of the United Nations General Assembly. Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. UN GA Resolution 55/25. November 15, 2000.Google Scholar
Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA). United States Federal Law. October 28, 2000.Google Scholar
Roe-Sepowitz, D, Hinckle, K, Bayless, A, Christensen, R, Garuba, M, Sabella, D, Tate, R. What You Need to Know. Sex Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation. A Training Tool for Health Care Providers. Albuquerque, New Mexico USA: University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository, Emergency Medicine Research and Scholarship; 2015.Google Scholar
Logan, TK, Walker, R, Hunt, G. Understanding human trafficking in the United States. Trauma Violence Abuse. 2009;10(1):3–30.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Macias Konstantopoulos, W, Ahn, R, Alpert, EJ, et al. An international comparative public health analysis of sex trafficking of women and girls in eight cities: achieving a more effective health sector response. J Urban Health. 2013;90(6):1194–1204.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Macias-Konstantopoulos W. Human trafficking: the role of medicine in interrupting the cycle of abuse and violence. Ann Intern Med. 2016;165(8):582–588.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lederer, LJ, Wetzel, CA. The health consequences of sex trafficking and their implications for identifying victims in healthcare facilities. Annals Health L. 2014;23:61.Google Scholar
Hopper, EK, Gonzalez, LD. A comparison of psychological symptoms in survivors of sex and labor trafficking. Behav Med. 2018;44(3):177–188.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stevens, S, Acker, S, Green, K, et al. Understanding the mental health impact of human trafficking. J Am Assoc Nurse Pract. 2019;31(12):699–704.10.1097/JXX.0000000000000225CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Oram, S, Zimmerman, C. The health of persons trafficked for forced labor. IOM Global Eye on Human Trafficking. 2008;4(4).Google Scholar
Macias-Konstantopoulos, W. Human Trafficking: Approach to the Patient. In: Brown, D, (ed). Scientific American Emergency Medicine. Hamilton, Ontario, Canada: Decker Intellectual Properties Inc; 2018.Google Scholar
Dank, ML, Khan, B, Downey, PM, et al. Estimating the Size and Structure of the Underground Commercial Sex Economy in Eight Major US Cities. Washington, DC USA: The Urban Institute; March 2014.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Polaris Project. The typology of modern slavery: defining sex and labor trafficking in the United States. Washington, DC; March 2017. https://polarisproject.org/the-typology-of-modern-slavery/. Accessed May 2023.Google Scholar
Tiller, J, Reynolds, S. Human trafficking in the emergency department: improving our response to a vulnerable population. West J Emerg Med. 2020;21(3):549.10.5811/westjem.2020.1.41690CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Patel, RB, Ahn, R, Burke, TF. Human trafficking in the emergency department. West J Emerg Med. 2010;11(5):402.Google ScholarPubMed
Bacchus, L, Mezey, G, Bewley, S. Experiences of seeking help from health professionals in a sample of women who experienced domestic violence. Health Soc Care Community. 2003;11(1):10–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shandro, J, Chisolm-Straker, M, Duber, HC, et al. Human trafficking: a guide to identification and approach for the emergency physician. Ann Emerg Med. 2016;68(4):501–508.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Macias-Konstantopoulos, WL. Caring for the trafficked patient: ethical challenges and recommendations for health care professionals. AMA J Ethics. 2017;19(1):80–90.Google ScholarPubMed
Greenbaum, J. Identifying victims of human trafficking in the emergency department. Clinical Pediatric Emergency Medicine. 2016;17(4):241–248.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Macias-Konstantopoulos, W, Ma, ZB. Physical health of human trafficking survivors: unmet essentials. In: Human Trafficking is a Public Health Issue: A Paradigm Expansion in the United States. Springer; 2017:185–210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baldwin, SB, Eisenman, DP, Sayles, JN, Ryan, G, Chuang, KS. Identification of human trafficking victims in health care settings. Health Human Rights. 2011;13:36.Google ScholarPubMed
Chisolm-Straker, M, Baldwin, S, Gaïgbé-Togbé, B, Ndukwe, N, Johnson, PN, Richardson, LD. Health care and human trafficking: we are seeing the unseen. J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2016;27(3):1220–1233.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Macias-Konstantopoulos, W, Raja, AS. Bring Awareness of Human Trafficking to Your Emergency Department. ACEP Now. June 9, 2016. https://www.acepnow.com/bring-awareness-human-trafficking-medical-practice/. Accessed May 2023.Google Scholar
Counselman, FL, Babu, K, Edens, MA, et al. The 2016 model of the clinical practice of emergency medicine. J Emerg Med. 2017;52(6):846–849.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Macias-Konstantopoulos, W. The Complexities of Recognizing and Responding to Trafficked Patients in the ED. ACEP Now. May 25, 2018. https://www.acepnow.com/article/the-complexities-of-recognizing-and-responding-to-trafficked-patients-in-the-ed/. Accessed May 2023.Google Scholar
American Board of Emergency Medicine. Policy Statement: Human Trafficking. February 2020. https://www.acep.org/globalassets/new-pdfs/policy-statements/human-trafficking.pdf. Accessed May 2023.Google Scholar
Pourmand, A, Marcinkowski, B. Recognizing Human Trafficking Victims as Patients in the ED. ACEPNow. April 11, 2022. https://www.acepnow.com/article/recognizing-human-trafficking-victims-as-patients-in-the-emergency-dept/. Accessed May 2023.Google Scholar
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.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Todres, J. Physician encounters with human trafficking: legal consequences and ethical considerations. AMA J Ethics. 2017;19(1):16–22.Google ScholarPubMed
Marcinkowski, B, Caggiula, A, Tran, BN, Tran, QK, Pourmand, A. Sex trafficking screening and intervention in the emergency department: a scoping review. J Am Coll Emerg Physicians Open. 2022;3(1):e12638.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Donnelly, EA, Oehme, K, Barris, D, Melvin, R. What do EMS professionals know about human trafficking? An exploratory study. J Human Trafficking. 2019;5(4):325–335.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bloem, C, Morris, RE, Chisolm-Straker, M. Human trafficking in areas of conflict: health care professionals’ duty to act. AMA J Ethics. 2017;19(1):72–79.Google ScholarPubMed
Grace, AM, Lippert, S, Collins, K, et al. Educating health care professionals on human trafficking. Pediatr Emerg Care. 2014;30(12):856.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harlow, AF, Rothman, EF, Dyer, S, Stoklosa, H. EMS professionals: critical partners in human trafficking response. Emerg Med J. 2019;36(10):641.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Charron, CM, Valenzuela, BE, Donnelly, EA, Oehme, JD K. What do EMS professionals know about human trafficking? Assessing the impact of training. J Human Trafficking. 2020:1–2.Google Scholar
Bath, H. The three pillars of trauma-informed care. Reclaiming Children and Youth. 2008;17(3):17–21.Google Scholar
Jacobus, DE. Human Trafficking: It’s All Around Us. JEMS. July 2021. https://www.jems.com/patient-care/human-trafficking-its-all-around-us/. Accessed May 2023.Google Scholar