Aim: To explore nursing students' perceptions of the identification and medical care of sex trafficking victims and how to improve the care provided based on the identified barriers.
Background: Despite the fact that more than 87% of sex trafficking victims establish contact with health professionals, their lack of awareness and training hinders their ability to assist victims properly.
Methods: A descriptive qualitative study was carried out using 11 focus groups of nursing students after a simulated case of sex trafficking victim. The analysis of results was conducted through content analysis.
Results: A total of 110 fourth-year nursing students participated in this study. After performing the data analysis, three main categories emerged: (i) making a health issue visible, (ii) identifying sex trafficking victims: resources based on evidence-based practice, and (iii) educational resources on sex trafficking in nursing degree.
Conclusions: Our results show that through clinical simulation, integrating content regarding the medical care of vulnerable groups can be useful for developing the skills necessary to provide effective care from a trauma-informed approach.
Implications for nursing management: Health institutions, senior charge nurses, and other health service managers should be aware of the current need for sex trafficking training, structural-level changes, and updated evidence-based guidelines and protocols with other service providers and law enforcement to provide high-quality care.
Keywords: focus groups; human trafficking; nursing education; trauma-informed approach.
© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.