CommonSpirit Health™ Human Trafficking (HT) Response
Many types of violence, including human trafficking, are more prevalent in the U.S. and throughout the world than many realize. The CommonSpirit Human Trafficking (HT) Response Program ensures that providers and staff are educated to identify patients and families who may be impacted by human trafficking or other types of abuse, neglect, and violence, and equipped to provide trauma-informed care and services to affected patients. Such care includes preventive education, intervention assistance, including warm referrals to community agencies, and continued patient care and services.
CommonSpirit Violence and HT Prevention and Response (VHTPR) Initiative
The CommonSpirit HT Response Program is now part of the broader CommonSpirit VHTPR Initiative, a new model for health care systems to comprehensively address multiple issues of violence, including human trafficking. Together, trauma-informed prevention and intervention strategies can reduce violence. To learn more about CommonSpirit’s community-based violence prevention model, please click here for a self-study module. To learn more about CommonSpirit’s HT Response model, please click here for a shared learnings manual.
CommonSpirit HT Response Educational Modules
With support from the CommonSpirit Foundation, the CommonSpirit HT Response Program developed modules to educate health professionals and other first responders about human trafficking and how to provide trauma-informed care and services to patients and families impacted by abuse, neglect, or violence. Three of these modules are available internally (in CommonSpirit learning management systems) and online through Creighton University’s CE Tracker platform (see below). Additional education such as the “Human Trafficking and Health Care Scenarios” module is available for live education. Please contact Holly Gibbs, System Director HT Response Program, for details at holly.gibbs@commonspirit.org.
Human Trafficking 101: Dispelling the Myths
This course was developed in partnership with HEAL Trafficking, a united group of multidisciplinary professionals dedicated to ending human trafficking and supporting its survivors from a public health perspective. It covers basic information about human trafficking, including potential red flags in health care settings. Following this course, providers should be able to define human trafficking, recognize misconceptions often associated with this type of violence, identify vulnerable populations and high-risk industries, and take action to prevent trafficking and respond to victims appropriately. It includes a quiz you must pass in order to print results for completing the course. Continuing education credits are also available – click the button below to access this course online through Creighton University’s CE Tracker platform.
Start the Course | Click Here for Instructions on How to Create a CE Tracker Account
Trauma-Informed Patient Care and Services
This course was developed in partnership with providers and other health professionals in various fields, as well as survivors of abuse, neglect, and violence, including human trafficking. It introduces the topic of trauma and the importance of a trauma-informed approach in health care settings. Following this course, providers should be able to describe the prevalence and widespread impact of trauma, recognize signs and symptoms of traumatic stress, including secondary traumatic stress, and respond in meaningful ways. It includes a quiz you must pass in order to print results for completing the course. Continuing education credits are also available – click the button below to access this course online through Creighton University’s CE Tracker platform.
Start the Course | Click Here for Instructions on How to Create a CE Tracker Account
PEARR: Five Steps to Victim Assistance in Health Care Settings
The PEARR steps were developed in partnership with providers and other health professionals from HEAL Trafficking and Pacific Survivor Center, an organization committed to advancing health and human rights in the Hawaii-Pacific region. PEARR represents five key steps for providing victim assistance to patients in a trauma-informed manner: Provide privacy, Educate, Ask, Respect and Respond. Following this course, providers should be able to use the PEARR steps to educate patients about abuse, neglect and violence, including human trafficking, assist patients with referrals to private and public community agencies, and access resources and tools (e.g. brochures and safety cards) that can assist with this process. It includes a quiz you must pass in order to print results for completing the course. Continuing education credits are also available – click the button below to access this course online through Creighton University’s CE Tracker platform.
Start the Course | Click Here for Instructions on How to Create a CE Tracker Account
CommonSpirit Abuse, Neglect, and Violence Policy
The CommonSpirit Abuse, Neglect, and Violence policy/procedure guides providers, staff, contract employees, and volunteers on what to do if they believe a patient may be at-risk of experiencing any type of abuse, neglect, or violence, including human trafficking. This policy/procedure applies to both acute and non-acute patient care settings. For an example of this policy/procedure, please contact Holly Gibbs at holly.gibbs@commonspirit.org.
Abuse, Neglect, and Violence – Reference Guide
The CommonSpirit Abuse, Neglect, and Violence policy/procedure directs providers, staff, contract employees, and volunteers to observe patients for risk factors and indicators of any type of abuse, neglect, or violence, including human trafficking. This reference guide provides a comprehensive overview of definitions, risk factors, verbal/nonverbal indicators, and resources for additional information about various types of abuse, neglect, and violence.
CommonSpirit PEARR Tool
The PEARR steps are a critical component of the CommonSpirit Abuse, Neglect, and Violence policy/procedure. With support from the CommonSpirit Foundation, the CommonSpirit HT Response Program developed this three-page handout called the “PEARR Tool”, which includes a summary of the PEARR steps, an abbreviated overview of risk factors and indicators for various types of abuse, neglect, and violence, including human trafficking, and a section to insert information about public and private community agencies.
CommonSpirit Patient Education Brochures and Safety Cards – Human Trafficking
The PEARR steps are based on an approach in which patients are educated and empowered with information about violence and available resources, in a developmentally- and culturally-sensitive manner, before further screening is conducted. The goal is to have an informative conversation with patients – in order to promote health, safety, and well-being, and to create a context for affected patients to naturally share their own experiences and possibly accept further assistance. Use of brochures and safety cards is encouraged when having such sensitive conversations with patients. Click below to access CommonSpirit patient education brochures and safety cards, developed with support from the CommonSpirit Foundation, that are focused on the topic of human trafficking.
Download Dignity Health-branded Brochures and Safety Cards
Download CHI-branded Brochures and Safety Cards
CommonSpirit Posters and Other Resources
AHA – Human Trafficking 10 Red Flags
This American Hospital Association (AHA) resource, adapted from materials developed by Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI), describes 10 potential red flags of human trafficking in the health care setting.
CommonSpirit Human Trafficking Victim Outreach Posters
With support from the CommonSpirit Foundation, the CommonSpirit HT Response Program partnered with the National Survivor Network (NSN), a national network of labor and sex trafficking survivors, to develop HT victim outreach posters for health care settings. The posters are available in different sizes and in various languages with Dignity Health or CHI branding. Special thanks to the San Francisco-based creative agency Eleven for supporting this project, including the design of all posters, brochures, and safety cards.