Date of Conferral

2023

Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

School

Nursing

Advisor

Anna Hubbard

Abstract

Evidence demonstrates that people who are being trafficked will seek medical attention, especially in emergency departments, which presents a rare opportunity to identify and support them. This Doctor of Nursing Project (DNP) was designed to evaluate if educating emergency department nurses on using an adult screening tool for human trafficking improves knowledge in a local emergency department in Texas. The participants were 11 registered nurses. The Maslow hierarchy of needs theory and the adult learning theory were used as a framework, and the models used to construct the educational project were Gagne’s nine levels of learning and the use of the analysis, design, development, and implementation model. Participants were given 20 multiple choice questions on a pretest and the same test post education. The education was presented in the form of a PowerPoint about human trafficking, which included the use of the Department of Health, and Human Services Adult Human Trafficking Screening Tool (AHTST). Data were analyzed using a paired t test; a p value of 0.05 was considered significant. The posttest data indicated improved human trafficking knowledge. The aggregate t test showed an overall p value of 0.030, which is statically significant. These findings imply that human trafficking education and the use of the AHTST increases the knowledge of the nursing staff. This DNP project’s findings support social change by providing recommendation for continued training of nursing staff in the care and assessment of patients who are victims of human trafficking and the use of a screening tool to help with early identification.

Included in

Nursing Commons

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