Modern slavery response and recognition training

Modern slavery is the recruitment and movement of people by force, coercion, deception or abuse of vulnerability for the purposes of exploitation. Modern slavery is a serious violation of human rights with significant negative physical and mental health consequences. Health care professionals are in a unique position to identify, safeguard, make appropriate referrals and meet the health needs of victims of such exploitation when they access health care. Moreover, there are significant legal, professional and ethical obligations for health care professionals regarding responding to modern slavery.

We designed a two-part teaching session for undergraduate medical students at Cardiff University. Part 1 provided students with sufficient content information regarding the different types of modern slavery and pathways of referral. Part 2 provided training for students to communicate safely and effectively with these vulnerable patients. Student evaluation data were collected following the teaching.

Quantitative and free text analysis confirmed that student confidence in recognising and understanding the action expected of them improved significantly following the teaching.

Recent research indicates a serious shortfall in knowledge and confidence amongst health care professionals in the UK. Undergraduate medical education is a strategic point for training regarding people trafficking, yet medical education on people trafficking is variable and often absent in the UK. Although challenging in terms of content and governance, this teaching innovation appeared to be successful in raising the students' awareness of an increasingly common problem in the UK, helping to equip students with the necessary knowledge and skills to effectively identify and safely manage consultations involving potential victims of modern slavery.