Visit Data and Telehealth in a Clinic for Trafficked Persons: Virtual Care and Human Trafficking During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Human trafficking involves coerced labor or sex. THRIVE, a multidisciplinary University of Miami clinic for trafficked persons, transitioned to a hybrid telehealth model during the COVID-19 pandemic. Th is paper presents appointment data across THRIVE clinic services during this transition. A review...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of health care for the poor and underserved 2023-08, Vol.34 (3), p.989-1002
Main Authors: Hadjikyriakou, Maria, Martinez-Sosa, Natalie, Harvey, Philip D, Potter, JoNell Efantis, Johnson, Latoya, Kenny, Maureen C, Alhajji, Lujain
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ambulatory Care Facilities
Child welfare
COVID-19
COVID-19 - epidemiology
Demographic variables
Disease transmission
Gynecology
Health care
Homeless people
Hospital systems
Hospitals
Human Trafficking
Humans
Interdisciplinary aspects
Internal medicine
Kidnapping
Mental disorders
Mental health
Obstetrics
Pandemics
Patient appointments
Patient satisfaction
Patients
Pediatrics
Professional relationships
Psychiatry
Shelter in place
Slavery
Telemedicine
Trafficking
Trauma
Trends
Variance analysis
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Summary:Human trafficking involves coerced labor or sex. THRIVE, a multidisciplinary University of Miami clinic for trafficked persons, transitioned to a hybrid telehealth model during the COVID-19 pandemic. Th is paper presents appointment data across THRIVE clinic services during this transition. A review of appointments for THRIVE patients (n=156) was conducted to compare pre-pandemic (February 2019 to February 2020) and pandemic (March 2020 to December 2021) appointment trends. There were 15% more scheduled (n=51.1 versus n=44) and 8% more completed (n=30.2 versus n=27.9) appointments per month early in the pandemic period with telehealth use compared to the pre-pandemic period. Telehealth was most used within psychiatry. Rescheduled and no-show appointments per month significantly increased during the pandemic period (p=0.010 in pandemic period 1 and and p=0.028 in pandemic period 2). There were few significant differences in appointment trends according to demographic variables. Telehealth succeeded in connecting THRIVE patients during the pandemic, highlighting its potential for long-term use amongst trafficked persons.
ISSN:1049-2089
1548-6869
1548-6869
DOI:10.1353/hpu.2023.a903058