A Scoping Review of Labor Trafficking Research

• In Event: Poster Session

Abstract

Purpose: Although labor trafficking (LT) may be an especially prevalent form of human trafficking, little is known about how best to help those individuals impacted. Therefore, we conducted a scoping review to examine the current state of the literature concerning research on individuals impacted by LT in the context of interventions, programs, and services.

Methods: The review was guided by the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews. Searches of 19 databases plus reference harvesting yielded 4,987 initial research articles published within the past 10 years. After removal of duplicates and articles not meeting specified inclusion criteria, eight articles were determined for inclusion and analysis.

Results: Articles included migrant workers and US citizens trafficked both in the US and globally. Work focused mostly on LT victimization and health outcomes. No articles focused on intervention research (i.e., service/program evaluation). Although these individuals experienced violence and work-related injuries, their injuries and health outcomes differed depending on the work industry and trafficking characteristics.

Conclusions: By summarizing all studies conducted with individuals impacted by LT in the context of interventions, programs, and services, this presentation identifies key gaps in LT intervention research, and provides recommendations for future studies that are feasible and meaningful for LT survivors.

Authors

• Jeongsuk Kim, University of South Florida

• Sarah M. Godoy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Cynthia Rizo, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Social Work

• Rebecca J. Macy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Social Work

• Spenser Radtke, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Christopher J. Wretman, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill