Healthcare providers' experience of identifying and caring for women subjected to sex trafficking: a qualitative study.
BMC Womens Health
; 24(1): 149, 2024 Feb 29.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38424503
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Men's violence against women, including human trafficking for sexual exploitation, is a severe threat to global health. Healthcare providers are uniquely positioned to identify and care for women subjected to human trafficking for sexual exploitation. They are among the few professionals the women interact with while being exposed to human trafficking for sexual exploitation. This study aims to describe healthcare workers' experience of identifying and caring for women subjected to human trafficking for sexual exploitation seeking women's healthcare.METHOD:
A qualitative design was chosen and nine qualitative interviews with healthcare providers were conducted and analyzed using the content analysis method.RESULTS:
Three main categories were revealed (1) the importance of being attentive, (2) the importance of providing safety, and (3) the importance of collaborating, followed by a number of subcategories behavioral and physical signs, limited time to interact, security measures, value of confidence building, organizational collaboration, essential external network, and information transmission.CONCLUSIONS:
As the women subjected to sex trafficking have limited time in healthcare, it is important for healthcare providers to be attentive and act immediately if suspecting human trafficking for sexual exploitation. It may be the only possibility for the healthcare providers to care for these women and reach them. They must endeavor to provide the women with safety due to their vulnerable position at the hospital. However, these women may leave the healthcare setting unidentified and unaided, which highlights the importance of collaboration on multiple levels.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Human Trafficking
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Language:
En
Journal:
BMC Womens Health
Journal subject:
SAUDE DA MULHER
Year:
2024
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Sweden