Effectiveness of an 8-week Curriculum in Changing Medical Student Self-assessment of Knowledge and Confidence toward Sex Trafficking

Author: Ruiz, Anastasia; Deleon, Sabrina; Baronia, Regina; Antal, Cheryl; Terry, Michelle & Wakefield, Sarah

Abstract: Although trafficked persons frequently present to health-care systems, physicians and physician trainees often lack training on identification and care of this patient population. Currently, there is no mandatory nor standard training on human trafficking during one’s medical education. A pilot 8-week curriculum focusing on sex trafficking, designed and implemented at a regional medical school, aims to provide medical students with the appropriate information and training to understand the complexity of sex trafficking, and enhance their role as members of the health-care team in combating this issue. Self-assessments of the participants’ attitudes and knowledge prior to and after taking the curriculum showed a level of increased knowledge and confidence in identifying and managing trafficked individuals presenting in the health-care setting. Findings support the implementation of such a curriculum, and its benefits to counter trafficking through early medical education. The practical contribution of this article is laying the groundwork for a sex trafficking curriculum implemented into medical education, in an effort to counter the issue of human trafficking by destigmatizing and providing knowledge to medical students.

Keywords: sex trafficking, human trafficking, curriculum, education, medical students, identification, treatment, referral, trafficked persons