Evaluating wellness workshops with trafficked women living in a shelter in Los Angeles, CA

BACKGROUND: From October 2010 to May 2011, UCLA graduate students piloted and qualitatively evaluated wellness workshops with female trafficking victims living in a shelter in Los Angeles, CA. The program aimed to fill gaps in health knowledge and to identify effective methods for evaluating health education programs with trafficked persons. METHODS: Eighteen female students facilitated nine workshops; four to five trafficked women attended each. After each workshop, facilitators completed a structured questionnaire describing educational activities, materials needed, number of participants, languages spoken, and length of workshops. Additionally, each activity and the overall workshop were rated using a five-point Likert scale on ease of presentation and perceived audience receptivity. RESULTS: Topics requested by shelter residents included patient-provider communication, nutrition, stress management, mental health and emotional coping, among others. All workshops were rated to have high receptivity (score of 4 to 5), and most facilitators reported ease in presenting the information (score of 3 to 5). Residents preferred skill-building activities – such as reading a nutrition label or role-playing a doctor's visit – over knowledge-based activities. Observations indicate that self-administered questionnaires and participant interviews to evaluate workshops would not be feasible with this population due to language and literacy barriers. DISCUSSION: The results of the facilitator evaluations should be regarded with caution, as they are susceptible to social desirability and recall bias. Nonetheless, the findings provide a glimpse into the health and wellness of trafficked persons. Creative and rigorous research is necessary to meet the needs of this diverse, underserved population.