TY - JOUR
T1 - Informing Human Trafficking Clinical Care Through Two Systematic Reviews on Sexual Assault and Intimate Partner Violence
AU - Menon, Blaine
AU - Stoklosa, Hanni
AU - Van Dommelen, Kaylee
AU - Awerbuch, Adam
AU - Caddell, Luke
AU - Roberts, Ken
AU - Potter, Jonell
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to acknowledge the bravery of those who have survived being trafficked, and the staff and providers who dedicate their careers to protecting the health and well-being of those affected by human trafficking. The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2019.
PY - 2020/12/1
Y1 - 2020/12/1
N2 - Background: There is a lack of evidence on the clinical management of patients who have suffered human trafficking. Synthesizing the evidence from similar patient populations may provide valuable insight. This review summarizes findings on therapeutic interventions for survivors of sexual assault and intimate partner violence (IPV). Method: We conducted two systematic reviews using the MEDLINE database. We included only randomized controlled trials of therapies with primary outcomes related to health for survivors of sexual assault and IPV. For the sexual assault review, there were 78 abstracts identified, 16 full-text articles reviewed, and 10 studies included. For the IPV review, there were 261 abstracts identified, 24 full-text articles reviewed, and 17 studies included. Analysis compared study size, intervention type, patient population, primary health outcomes, and treatment effect. Results: Although our search included physical and mental health outcomes, almost all the studies meeting inclusion and exclusion criteria focused on mental health. The interventions for sexual assault included spiritually focused group therapy, interference control training, image rehearsal therapy, sexual revictimization prevention, educational videos, cognitive behavioral therapy, and exposure therapy. The interventions in the IPV review included group social support therapy, exposure therapy, empowerment sessions, physician counseling, stress management programs, forgiveness therapy, motivational interviewing, and interpersonal psychotherapy. Conclusions: Insights from these reviews included the importance of culturally specific group therapy, the central role of survivor empowerment, and the overwhelming focus on mental health. These key features provide guidance for the development of interventions to improve the health of human trafficking survivors.
AB - Background: There is a lack of evidence on the clinical management of patients who have suffered human trafficking. Synthesizing the evidence from similar patient populations may provide valuable insight. This review summarizes findings on therapeutic interventions for survivors of sexual assault and intimate partner violence (IPV). Method: We conducted two systematic reviews using the MEDLINE database. We included only randomized controlled trials of therapies with primary outcomes related to health for survivors of sexual assault and IPV. For the sexual assault review, there were 78 abstracts identified, 16 full-text articles reviewed, and 10 studies included. For the IPV review, there were 261 abstracts identified, 24 full-text articles reviewed, and 17 studies included. Analysis compared study size, intervention type, patient population, primary health outcomes, and treatment effect. Results: Although our search included physical and mental health outcomes, almost all the studies meeting inclusion and exclusion criteria focused on mental health. The interventions for sexual assault included spiritually focused group therapy, interference control training, image rehearsal therapy, sexual revictimization prevention, educational videos, cognitive behavioral therapy, and exposure therapy. The interventions in the IPV review included group social support therapy, exposure therapy, empowerment sessions, physician counseling, stress management programs, forgiveness therapy, motivational interviewing, and interpersonal psychotherapy. Conclusions: Insights from these reviews included the importance of culturally specific group therapy, the central role of survivor empowerment, and the overwhelming focus on mental health. These key features provide guidance for the development of interventions to improve the health of human trafficking survivors.
KW - human trafficking
KW - intimate partner violence
KW - mental health
KW - sexual assault
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U2 - 10.1177/1524838018809729
DO - 10.1177/1524838018809729
M3 - Review article
C2 - 30453846
AN - SCOPUS:85058647324
VL - 21
SP - 932
EP - 945
JO - Trauma, Violence, and Abuse
JF - Trauma, Violence, and Abuse
SN - 1524-8380
IS - 5
ER -