Barriers to and facilitators of human trafficking screening in the health care setting: a scoping review protocol.

Objective: The objective of this scoping review will be to identify barriers to and facilitators of screening children, adolescents, and adults for human trafficking in the health care setting.

Introduction: Human trafficking is a global issue that violates human rights and undermines the fabric of society. The effects of human trafficking span domestic and international borders, cultures, and socioeconomic backgrounds. The magnitude of human trafficking has become increasingly evident, with estimates indicating millions of victims annually.

Inclusion criteria: This review will consider studies that include children, adolescents, and adults who are either victims or potential victims of human trafficking, and the health care providers caring for them in the health care setting. Studies that report on barriers to and facilitators of screening for human trafficking will be included. Studies may be conducted in any health care setting, in any geographical location or culture.

Methods: This review will follow the JBI methodology for scoping reviews and will be reported in line with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). The key databases to be searched will include PubMed, CINAHL (EBSCOhost), PsycINFO (EBSCOhost), and Web of Science Core Collection. Sources of unpublished studies and gray literature will include MedNar and LILACS. Two independent reviewers will retrieve and review full-text studies and extract data. The results will be presented in diagrammatic or tabular format with a narrative summary.

Review registration: Open Science Framework https://osf.io/etx7w.