Comprehensive Care for Sexually Exploited Youth: A Case Report

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Emergency Medicine
• Forensic Nursing

Background:

• Adolescents are at risk for human trafficking and sexual exploitation.
• Emergency departments can serve as a setting for identification and intervention.
• The Short Screen for Child Sex Trafficking is a tool for risk assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe a model for identifying and responding to at-risk adolescents in the emergency department.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of the Short Screen for Child Sex Trafficking and forensic nurse examiner (FNE) assessments.

Main Methods:

• A case report describing a patient presenting to the emergency department for mental health care.
• Screening using the Short Screen for Child Sex Trafficking.
• Forensic nurse examiner (FNE) assessment for high-risk individuals.

Main Results:

• The screening identified significant risk for human trafficking/sexual exploitation.
• FNE interventions facilitated disclosure of exploitation and connection to resources.
• The model enabled intervention without requiring self-identification or provider recognition.

Conclusions:

• The described model is replicable in healthcare settings.
• This approach can improve identification and support for at-risk youth.
• Systematic screening and trauma-informed FNE response are effective.