Physical health symptoms among Ethiopian returnees who were trafficked aboard

Abstract Background: There is a growing thought of considering human trafficking as a severe form of violence which usually results in various health outcomes including symptoms of physical health problems. Physical health symptoms could at least compromise victims’ future quality of life and productivity, and to the worst, it might be life threatening to them. This study examined the magnitude of physical health symptoms during the trafficking period and compared it with that of the period prior to the trafficking condition. Methods : A total of 1387 trafficking returnees from abroad via three trafficking corridors of Ethiopia were recruited consecutively. Among socio-demographic and other characteristics, data regarding physical health symptoms such as headaches, stomach pain, memory problems, back pain, tooth pain, injuries, vision problem, loss of appetite that were experienced during and prior to the trafficking period were collected. The proportions of physical health symptoms experienced during and prior to trafficking period were determined and compared using chi-square test. Results: Among all participants, 598 (46.79%) of them experienced weight loss during the trafficking period while it was only 106 (8.28%) before the trafficking period. The 38.50% extra prevalence of the problem that was experienced during the trafficking period was statistically significant (p< 0.0001). Similar significant differences were observed for symptoms such as forgetfulness (p < 0.0001), stomachache (p = 0.0039), gynecological problems (p = 0.041), bone fracture (p < 0.0001), back pain (p < 0.0001), and wound (p < 0.0001); but not significantly different for symptoms such as skin disease (p-value = 0.1944), tooth pain (p-value =0.6587), sight problem (p-value = 0.1306), and breathing problem (p=value = 0.3173). Conclusions: Returnees experienced higher rate of physical health symptoms during the trafficking period than that of pre-departure period confirming that violence and subsequent health problems are signature features of human trafficking. These negative health outcomes need to be investigated using longitudinal studies so that the long-term effects of human trafficking and associated traumatic experiences could be fully understood among the returnees.