UF College of Nursing student's project nets human trafficking arrests

Katelyn Watts never thought that in just three months her graduate student project would rescue several human trafficking victims, capture accused traffickers, and become part of a hospital system’s screening process.

Watts, a recent Doctor of Nursing Practice graduate from the University of Florida College of Nursing, said she is heartened by the results yet saddened by the issue’s prevalence.

Watts hopes the project helps fight the growing problem, which impacts tens of thousands of children and adults yearly in the United States.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates up to 325,000 people are trafficked annually in the U.S. Florida ranks among the top states for trafficking, including forced sex work and labor.

“You see the posters and feel bad, but you don’t think it’s in your backyard. But it is. More and more it’s happening to kids. In many cases it’s a family member doing the trafficking,” Watts said.

With the help of UF College of Nursing faculty, Baptist Health, and EPIC Systems, an electronic health records software developer, Watts developed a screening tool template to identify potential human trafficking victims. The template works in the EPIC system used by health care workers assessing hospital patients. The information entered in the system raises flags that can identify a victim.

“Observation is a critical component. Noticing how the potential victim acts, their hygiene, what kind of tattoos they have, do they have a cellphone. All these can be clues,” Watts said. “That’s why education is so crucial. Part of the education focused on interacting with the suspected trafficker. We spent a lot of time using scripts and practicing steps to take if things escalated.”

College of Nursing D.N.P. students must develop research projects addressing weighty issues.

Watts said her project came about after her supervisor at Baptist Health returned from a conference highlighting human trafficking.

“I thought this would be the perfect project to help shed light on such a heartbreaking issue,” she said.

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During the project period in late spring, nurses identified five victims, including children, and police arrested three suspected traffickers in north Florida.

The screening tool is available in the EPIC system for use by any provider with access.

“This was a rock star project. A D.N.P. project is about the big picture. How do you improve care for the larger group? Katelyn did that and hit it out of the park,” said Rene Love, associate dean for academic affairs - graduate clinical education at the college.

College of Nursing Dean Shakira Henderson said the project is just one example of big-impact work done by the college’s students and guided by faculty.

“At the UF College of Nursing, we empower our students to tackle society’s most pressing issues and find ways to enhance well-being on all fronts,” Henderson said. “Katelyn embodies our core mission of Care. Lead. Inspire. By adapting nursing assessment skills and technology to combat human trafficking, her project has brought focus to this unfortunate problem. We look forward to exploring her work further and evaluating its integration with UF’s clinical systems.”

Many D.N.P.s are involved in direct patient care where they diagnose and treat illnesses and prescribe medications. They can also focus on healthcare leadership and developing systemwide improvements through research. The UF D.N.P. program is consistently among the top in the state.

Watts recently began her D.N.P. career in the pediatric emergency room at Baptist Health in Jacksonville and will continue her work to combat human trafficking.

“This is something you have to keep mindful of all the time,” she said.