Poster #6

Core Guiding Principles for Applied Practice, Identification, and Restoration: Anti-Trafficking Efforts for Better Health Outcomes

By: Meredyth C. Pray and Arduizur Carli Richie-Zavaleta

Abstract:

Human trafficking is a proliferating public health problem, yet anti-trafficking efforts remain limited. In response, this chapter examines exemplary local efforts across the United States to illuminate potential anti-trafficking models. These highlighted programs provide examples of best practices, sustainability, multidisciplinary collaboration, and other victim-centered practices. In evaluation, the authors applied the Center for Disease Control’s public health prevention framework to dynamically explore the different stages of trafficking: recruitment, identification, and recovery. In conjunction, the authors propose core guiding principles to evaluate the potentiality of novel anti-trafficking efforts; core guiding principles include survivor-centered evidenced-based approaches, program sustainability, and uniformity of anti-trafficking efforts across the United States, among others. The authors determined that there is a critical need to create uniformity across efforts and propose that training professionals at each level of the prevention framework are part of the solution. Future recommendations include developing evidence-based training for multiple professional disciplines yet included in the prevention, identification, and recovery of victims of human trafficking.

meredyth c. pray

Meredyth C. Pray holds a Bachelor of Arts in social policy and public service from the University of California, Irvine, where she graduated summa cum laude in 2021. For her senior honors thesis, Meredyth conducted a year-long field research study that examined the influence of personal, cultural, and life course factors on nutrition in immigrant Mexican American women in Santa Ana, California. Meredyth received the Order of Merit from the University of California, Irvine, for excellence in original research for her work. Meredyth is committed to public health research and community engagement. Her recent work includes research on human trafficking prevention, COVID-19 vaccine promotion in underinsured Asian and Pacific Islander communities, and psychological support services for senior citizens impacted by COVID-19. Meredyth is active in the American Public Health Association, where she is a member of the Community Health Planning and Policy Development Section. Meredyth is applying for Master of Public Health programs for 2023.