Human Trafficking for Healthcare Professionals: The South Carolina Standard

Course overview

Human trafficking is a public health problem that South Carolina clinicians encounter in emergency departments, primary care, OB/GYN clinics, urgent care, and behavioral health settings, often without recognizing it. As many as 88 percent of trafficking victims have contact with a healthcare professional during their exploitation, yet most are not identified during that encounter (McAmis et al., 2022). This one hour continuing education course equips healthcare professionals practicing in South Carolina with the clinical and legal skills required to identify suspected trafficking, apply the state mandatory reporting framework correctly, and deliver trauma informed care across the encounter. South Carolina law requires healthcare professionals to identify and respond to suspected trafficking of minors and vulnerable adults, yet most clinicians report low confidence in recognizing trafficking indicators, understanding state reporting obligations, and applying trauma informed principles to suspected victims. Recent peer reviewed studies confirm that healthcare professionals frequently encounter trafficked patients without recognizing them, and that uneven application of mandatory reporting laws can endanger patients and undermine the therapeutic relationship. This course addresses these gaps by translating South Carolina two statute reporting framework (S C Code Ann section 63 7 310 and the Omnibus Adult Protection Act section 43 35), SAMHSA framework for trauma informed care, and current validated screening tools into scope appropriate clinical practices that South Carolina healthcare professionals should be prepared to use.