RAFT: Rapid Appraisal for Trafficking

Purpose: Many trafficking survivors report visiting a health care setting during their exploitation without being identified as victims of trafficking. There is only one validated screening tool to identify adults being trafficked; the Vera Institute for Justice's Trafficking Victim Identification Tool (TVIT). TVIT was designed for use by social work providers and takes 40-60 minutes to administer; it is not appropriate for the ED setting. Our goal is to validate a rapid screening tool for use in the ED to increase human trafficking victim identification. Methods: IES and JPS partnered with Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai for the study. Data from four hospitals in the Mount Sinai system are used for initial validation and JPS data will be used for external multi-state validation. The study design utilizes randomized enrollment process, comparison of candidate questions to the validated standard (TVIT), psychometric analysis with criterion validation, and external validation. Well-trained volunteers administered both the validated TVIT and the candidate RAFT questions to patient-participants in the ED. This study is powered based on best estimate of trafficking prevalence at 1.2-1.4% of ED population. Results: JPS started enrollment May 2018; 2070 patients have been approached, 809 patients have been enrolled, and data collection continues. Current interim data indicates a 1.44% lifetime prevalence of trafficking in this population. Conclusion: Evidence suggests a unique opportunity for EDs to screen and identify trafficked individuals; a validated screening tool for ED use will improve screening and identification of trafficked individuals.