Resolution: S-20-24: ENCOURAGING FORMAL EDUCATION IN HUMAN TRAFFICKING AWARENESS DURING DIDACTIC YEARS

[Valerie Lile]

1  WHEREAS, human trafficking is defined as the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor
2  or commercial sex act¹; and

3  WHEREAS, an estimated 40.3 million people are victims of human trafficking globally, 4.8 million of which
4  are in forced sexual exploitation for profits of an estimated $99 Billion US dollars per year²; and

5  WHEREAS, 1 million children are victims of sex trafficking globally³; and

6  WHEREAS, 14,500 to 17,500 people are trafficked into the United States each year⁴; and

7  WHEREAS, 1 in 6 reported runaways in the United States are presumed to be victims of child sex trafficking⁵;
8  and

9  WHEREAS, trafficking victims experience higher rates of the following healthcare concerns: STI’s, pregnancy,
10  unsafe abortion, malnourishment, illness from unsanitary conditions, and physical and mental abuse
11  manifestations such as PTSD and depression⁶; and

12  WHEREAS, studies have shown that 28-88% of trafficking victims have come into contact with the healthcare
13  system while being trafficked^6,7; and

14  WHEREAS, the American College of Osteopathic Emergency Physicians reports that only 10% of physicians
15  recognize human trafficking victims and 3% of emergency physicians receive training on human trafficking⁸;
16  and

17  WHEREAS, only three medical schools in the United States have formal case based simulation training in
18  identifying victims of human trafficking during the first three years of medical education, none of which are
19  osteopathic medical schools^9,10; and

20  WHEREAS, Stoklosa et. al. states “Educating healthcare professionals on the topic cannot be limited to one
21  subspecialty as trafficking victims have a wide variety of physical symptoms… To reach the widest range of
22  subspecialties, education must occur during undergraduate medical education and focus on practical aspects of
23  providing care for trafficked persons as well as identifying elements of trafficking”¹⁰; and

24  WHEREAS, the American Association of Family Physicians, the American College of Emergency Physicians,
25  the American College of Osteopathic Emergency Physicians, and the World Health Organization have all
26  released statements regarding the need for awareness of the signs of human trafficking in healthcare
27  professionals^8,11,12,13; and

28  WHEREAS, the American College of Emergency Physicians recommends that medical school and emergency
29  medicine residency curricula should include training in recognizing and intervening for patients surviving
30  human trafficking⁸; and

31  WHEREAS, American Osteopathic Association policy H401-A/14 Human Trafficking—Awareness as a
32  Global Health Problem acknowledges human trafficking as a global public health problem and encourages
33  awareness among osteopathic physicians¹⁴; and

34  WHEREAS, the Student Osteopathic Medical Association (SOMA) Resolution S-17-04 states SOMA
35  “supports the inclusion of healthcare-related human trafficking identification and response training in all
36  osteopathic medical schools and graduate medical education curricula”¹⁵; now, therefore, be it

1 RESOLVED, that that the Student Osteopathic Medical Association (SOMA) acknowledges the lack of formal
2 training in recognizing the signs and risk factors of human trafficking during the didactic years of medical
3 school, and be it further

4 RESOLVED, that the Student Osteopathic Medical Association (SOMA) recommends formal training in
5 recognizing the signs and risk factors of human trafficking during the didactic years of medical school to
6 Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA); and be it further

7 RESOLVED, that the Student Osteopathic Medical Association (SOMA) encourages physicians to seek
8 continuing education in recognizing the signs and risk factors of human trafficking.

References

1. Human trafficking definition: Department of Homeland Security. (2019, June 28). What Is Human Trafficking? Retrieved from http://www.dhs.gov/blue-campaign/what-human-trafficking
2. Worldwide Human trafficking prevalance: International Labor Organization. (2017, September 19). Forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking. Retrieved from https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/forced-labour/lang–en/index.h
3. Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage. (2017, September 19). Retrieved February 25, 2020, from https://www.ilo.org/global/publications/books/WCMS_575479/lang–en/index.htm
4. Clawson, H. J., Dutch, N., Solomon, A., & Goldblatt Grace, L. Human trafficking into and within the United States: a review of the literature 1–54 (n.d.). Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. https://aspe.hhs.gov/report/human-trafficking-and-within-united-states-review-literature#Trafficking
5. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. (n.d.). About NCMEC. Retrieved February 10, 2020, from http://www.missingkids.org/footer/media/keyfacts
6. Sy, E., Pusey, J. O., Cho, N., Marin, L., Dagdagan, M., Whiteman, R., … Marigold, J. A. (2005). Turning pain into power: Trafficking survivors’ perspectives on early intervention strategies. [Booklet]. San Francisco, CA: Family Violence Prevention Fund.
7. Lederer, L. J., & Wetzel, C. A. (2014). The Health Consequences of Sex Trafficking and Their Implications for Identifying Victims in Healthcare Facilities.
8. Reyes, J. (2019, July 24). Confronting Human Trafficking. Retrieved from American College of Osteopathic Emergency Physicians: https://acoep.org/main/publications/patientswithautism-4/
9. University of Louisville. UofL, Harvard and USF provide model for medical schools to teach the signs of human trafficking. Retrieved February 17, 2020, from https://louisville.edu/medicine/departments/pediatrics/news/uofl-harvard-and-usf-provide-model-for-medical-schools-to-teach-the-signs-of-human-trafficking
10. Hanni Stoklosa, Michelle Lyman, Carrie Bohnert & Olivia Mittel (2017) Medical education and human trafficking: using simulation, Medical Education Online, 22:1, 1412746, DOI: 10.1080/10872981.2017.1412746
11. Human Trafficking. (2016, October 4). Retrieved February 25, 2020, from https://www.aafp.org/about/policies/all/human-trafficking.html
12. Human Trafficking. (n.d.). Retrieved February 25, 2020, from https://www.acep.org/patient-care/policy-statements/human-trafficking/
13. Human trafficking. (2014, November 28). Retrieved February 25, 2020, from https://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/violence/rhr12_42/en/
14. HUMAN TRAFFICKING – AWARENESS AS A GLOBAL HEALTH PROBLEM. (2019). Retrieved February 17, 2020, from https://osteopathic.org/about/leadership/policy-search/?aoatextsearchinline=trafficking
15. INCLUSION OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING TRAINING IN OSTEOPATHIC MEDICAL SCHOOL CURRICULA. (2017, March 4). Retrieved February 17, 2020, from https://studentdo.org/soma-policy-database/?aoatextsearchinline=traffickin

---

Submitted by:

Kalyn Brenner, OMS II – Des Moines University
Kimberly Miller, OMS II – Des Moines University
Molly Cunard, OMS II – Des Moines University
Jayson Kemble, OMS II – Des Moines University
Emily Merchen, OMS II – Des Moines University
Erin Dankert Eggum, OMS II – Des Moines University
Collin Erickson, OMS II – Des Moines University
Jacob Nelson, OMS II – Des Moines University

 

Action Taken:
Date:
Effective Time Period: Ongoing

[Author]

Posts