Coping strategies and stressors of nursingstudents in the care of sex trafficking victims

Abstract

During their clinical practice, nursing students face a number of complex clinicalsituations, which may include treating victims of sex trafficking. These clinical experiences canlead to stress for the nursing students, which may hinder their learning process. Nonetheless,there is very little educational training provided in nursing programmes on this topic. Theobjective of this study was to identify the coping strategies and stressors perceived by nursingstudents in the care of sex trafficking victims. A pre-post study of a single group was carried out.The TREND guidelines were followed. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Coping BehaviorInventory (CBI) were used for data collection. On the PSS, the average scores were lower afterthe intervention in all dimensions, except related to teachers and nursing staff and peers and dailylife. Statistically significant differences were found when comparing the results of the total averagescore of the PSS and the time of measurement (pre/post-intervention) (t(106)=38.811;P<0.001). Regarding the Coping Behavior Inventory, the average scores in each dimensionincreased after the intervention, except transference behaviours. Statistically significant differenceswere found when comparing the total average score of the questionnaire and the time ofmeasurement (Z= 13.357;P<0.001). The total stress levels and coping strategies of nursingstudents in caring for victims of sex trafficking improved significantly after the intervention.Nursing educators should promote the training of future nursing professionals as a potentialeffective strategy for the rapid identification and adequate care of sex trafficking victims.