Describe the elements included in a care pathway for human trafficking victims in the ED: a mapping review.
Creators: name: van Rooy, Leanne
Publisher: name: figshare
Year: 2023
Subjects: classificationCode: 420599
subject: Nursing not elsewhere classified

description: Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery that is mainly sexual exploitation and forced labour (Cheetham 2022). Human trafficking consists of three elements; an act is the role the trafficker is playing in exploitation; the means is the force, fraud, or coercion to exploit the individual and the purpose is the type of labour the victim is exploited for (Byrne 2019). The literature recommends standardised care pathways to improve the identification and response of human trafficking victims (Eickhoff 2023). Globally there are limited validated protocols in place for healthcare professionals to recognise and respond to human trafficking victims (Castellucci, 2020). About 50% of victims visit the ED and 85% are unidentified by healthcare professionals (Eickhoff 2023). Healthcare professionals in the ED play a vital role in combating human trafficking but there is a lack of care pathways to recognise and respond to human trafficking victims in the ED (Egyud 2017). A multifaceted care pathway is recommended with elements of; a mutli-discplinary team approach, continuous education, legal consultation, and establishing a care protocol/pathway (Eickhoff 2023; Tiller 2020).An important factor is to build rapport and create a safe environment for the victim (Eickhoff 2023). Healthcare professionals play an important role in creating a safe and confidential environment for the victims to disclose their status if they choose to do so (Stevens 2016). Resources should be offered such as the Human Trafficking Hotline number (Tiller 2020). There is a need for a systematic approach and evidence-based trauma-informed policies (care pathway) in the ED that will increase the likelihood of identifying and responding appropriately to the vulnerable population (Castellucci, 2020, Hefner 2019). In addition, there are no standardised care pathways, incorporating red flags, characteristics of human trafficking victims, and trauma-informed approach, for healthcare professionals to identify and respond to human trafficking victims (Hulick, 2022). Fostering an environment of safety and trust to create an opportunity for the victim to disclose their status is lacking in the ED (Camak, 2021). The healthcare professional could therefore be the vital link between the sex trafficking victim and freedom from modern-day slavery (Camak, 2021). 3. Aim of the study The researchers aim to describe the elements included in a care pathway for human trafficking victims in the ED. 4. Research design The aims of this study will be met through a mapping review of primary studies. A mapping review was selected as the most appropriate research design because the researchers will map out and categorise the elements included in a care pathway for human trafficking victims in the ED (Aveyard 2019). Description of the elements of the care pathway may contribute to identifying recommendations for future practices (Heyn 2019). A mapping review will be conducted to determine which elements are included in care pathways for human trafficking victims in the ED. The mapping review is a hypothesis-generating exercise and includes reporting guidelines to increase the method's transparency and ensure the research's validity and reliability (Tricco, 2016). A mapping review describes the nature of evidence in a particular area to identify gaps for future research (Khalil 2022). The process will be documented to enable other researchers to duplicate the study (Arksey, 2005). Five stages will be included: 1) Identify the research question; 2) Identify the relevant studies; 3) Selection of appropriate studies; 4) Charting the data and 5) Summarising and reporting the results. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) will be used to present the results. Figure 1 shows the sequence of the mapping review step. Figure 1. Mapping review steps 5. Identify the research question The mapping review team agreed on the need for the review, the review question, inclusion and exclusion criteria, and the review protocol. They also agreed on the population, the phenomenon of interest, and the context (PICo) question as shown in Table 1. Table 1: PCC: Search terms and eligibility criteria Variable Description Inclusion criteria Exclusion criteria Population Human trafficking victims (sex trafficking victims) Adolescents (≥ 10 to 19 years); Adults (&gt; 19 years), human trafficking victims, sex trafficking victims child (&lt; 10 years), labour trafficking Concept Screening tool, toolkit, pathway, algorithm, guideline, best practice guideline, flow diagram, evidence-based practice Education Education Context ED ED All other healthcare settings Exclusion: editorials, commentaries, letters to the editors, conference preceding Inclusion: peer-reviewed reports (including dissertations and thesis); Reviews Year: Include all The PICoT review question is: ‘Which elements are included in care pathways for human trafficking victims in emergency departments?’ A search string based on the PICo question is essential to obtain the maximum number of sources from various databases. Summarising and reporting the results The researcher will present an overview of all the articles reviewed (Tricco, 2016). The PCC elements and inclusion and exclusion criteria will guide the title, abstract, and full-text readings. The database search results will be presented in a PRISMA flow chart. The results will be presented in a tabular form, followed by a summary including how the results relate to the research question (Tricco, 2016). The elements will be presented in a map format. The elements identified during the mapping review included in pathways for human trafficking victims in EDs will be summarised and included as part of the data to be incorporated into the co-event during data analysis. The PRISMA reporting guidelines will be followed when reporting on the findings of the review. 10. Ethical considerations The researcher will be transparent and honest in the selection and reporting of the review. Academic integrity will be maintained throughout the process. The review team is competent in research as they have done similar reviews previously. 11. Rigor of the review A rigorous review process starts by establishing a research team to develop an a priori research proposal as in this study. The research process will be recorded meticulously to enhance transparency and possible duplication. Set standards for reviews, i.e. PRISMA statement will be followed. The proposal will be registered after ethics approval. The data extraction form will be piloted and adapted as informed by the data. Data will be extracted verbatim to enhance reliability.