Supporting emergency department Nurse's self-Efficacy in victim identification through human trafficking education: A...

Human trafficking is a form of modern slavery, exploiting people across all cultures and ethnic groups. Human trafficking victims (HTV) are at increased risk for neglect, physical, and psychological harm.

Approximately 68% of HTV report seeking medical treatments in the emergency department at some point during their captivity. Many emergency department nurses today are however not well prepared to identify potential HTV in day to day practice.

The purpose of this quality improvement (QI) project was to improve emergency room nurses' self-efficacy in victim identification through education and implementation of a screening tool. Self-efficacy in victim identification was measured through a pre- and post- implementation survey.

The intervention for this QI project included education delivered asynchronously online and in person across all shifts as well as a victim screening assessment. The screening assessment was imbedded in the pre-existing safety assessment of the electronic medical record.

Using the mean response of pre- and post- implementation surveys, a paired t-test analysis allowed comparison indicating a significant improvement to self-reported levels of self-efficacy in nursing staff.

A statistically significant change in mean practice self-efficacy scores reinforced the importance of education and screening in victim identification.