Human Trafficking of Children: Nurse Practitioner Knowledge, Beliefs, and Experience Supporting the Development of a Practice Guideline: Part Two

Introduction: Part 1 of this series addressed low levels of awareness about child trafficking among pediatric health care providers, supporting the need for clinical practice guidelines to aid evidence-based response to potential victims in the clinical setting. The purpose of this article was to explore evidence related to effective clinical response when encountering at-risk children or those who have experienced trafficking and make recommendations for a practice guideline. Method: An integrated review of the literature included electronic data search of PubMed, Ovid, and CINAHL and application of the social ecological model for thematic analysis. Results: Research is primarily inconclusive on the effective clinical response for victims and potential victims of child trafficking, indicating the need for practice guidelines directed at both prevention and intervention. Discussion: This review supports pediatric clinicians as ideally equipped and situated to intervene in a myriad of care settings on behalf of children with health disparities who are vulnerable to trafficking, advocating for prevention, and optimization of equitable health outcomes.