Assessing Family Medicine Residency Programs’ Training on Human Trafficking: A National Survey of Program Directors

Author: Mishori, Ranit; Stolarz, Katherine; Ravi, Anita; Korostyshevskiy, Valeriy; Chambers, Ronald & Cronholm, Peter

Abstract: Human trafficking (HT) affects millions globally, and is linked to significant health effects. Studies suggest victims interact with the healthcare system while exploited, yet go unrecognized. We sought to determine the content and extent of HT training in family medicine residency programs and to identify barriers to providing formal training. Participation in the Council of Academic Family Medicine Educational Research Alliance (CERA) Program Director (PD) survey in 2018. Almost half of program directors stated their program had no HT training (45.8%), 35.4% had required training and 18.8% offer electives. HT was primarily taught via lectures (77.1%) vs. experiential learning (21.5%); the majority of programs dedicated 1–3 hours total during residency (79.5%) to HT. Nearly 2/3 of residents have reported “basic” competency (60.9%) but only 6% had advanced competency. Required training was associated with higher odds of residents graduating with an advanced level. Programs with institutional protocols were 10 times more likely to have residents with advanced competency. Gaps remain in U.S. Family Medicine Residency Programs' HT education, though it is unclear how that compares to other specialties. HT knowledge and practice should be linked to Accreditation Council Graduate Medical Education competencies and integrated into residency curricula.

Keywords: human trafficking, graduate medical education, family medicine, primary care