Human Trafficking and the Role of the Case Manager

Human trafficking (HT) is the fastest growing crime in the world and a major health concern for healthcare. There is a critical lack of healthcare provider targeted HT education, resulting in the failure to identify, rescue, and provide proper care for victims of HT in the United States. All healthcare professionals must be vigilant and proactive in identifying and assisting victims of HT. Recognizing this need, the aim of this paper is to improve case managers' awareness and knowledge of their role in HT.

The primary setting for purposes of this paper is the hospital as this is the most likely setting where a case manager would encounter a victim of HT. It has been reported that 87.8% of victims report they have been in contact with a healthcare professional at some point during their trafficking with 63.3% occurring in a hospital/emergency room.

Given the prevalence of HT and the likelihood of numbers growing, case managers should proactively learn to identify, rescue, and provide patient-centered care for victims of HT. This can be achieved through the knowledge of tools that exist to assist case managers in the identification of victims, including the AMP and SOAR models. Additionally, it is important to know one's role, debunk the myths, and recognize the signs associated with trafficking. Providing a collaborative, patient-centered care approach that supports and empowers the victim will lead to improved victim outcomes and may aid the successful prosecution of the trafficker.