The outcomes for human trafficking instrument

Abstract

This study supports evidence-based services for victims of HT by developing
and testing an outcome instrument designed to assess changes in HT
program participant status on key outcome categories. Study methods
included conducting an environmental scan; expert panels of service providers, survivors, and researchers; instrument scoring and cognitive interviews
with HT service providers. Hypothetical case vignettes were then used to
assess instrument reliability and concurrent validity – concurrent validity -
first among program directors, then among case managers, and finally,
comparing case managers to program directors. Average interrater reliability
across items within outcome categories among program directors was excellent (ICC > 0.90) for most outcome categories, indicating consensus ratings
could serve as a gold standard for assessing the performance of less seasoned HT service providers using the instrument. Case managers had mostly
moderate (ICC > 0.50) to good (ICC > 0.75) average interrater reliability across
items within outcome categories among themselves, and fair (> 0.40) to
good (> 0.75) average agreement across items within outcome categories
with the program directors. The resulting excel-based instrument is free;
user-friendly; applicable to diverse settings; relevant to victims of sex and
labor trafficking, whether domestic or foreign born, adults or minors; and
supports data management, visualization, export, and analysis.