Nurses Educational Funds, Inc.

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NEF Scholar Francine Bono-Neri Creates Scholarship Fund for Nurses Studying Human Trafficking

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Dr. Francine Bono-Neri is a pediatric nurse practitioner, nurse educator, nurse leader, researcher, and the 2019 recipient of the Nurses Educational Funds (NEF) Jane Eleanor Knox Scholarship. Upon receiving the NEF Scholarship, Francine was determined to create a similar opportunity for her nursing colleagues pursuing graduate study.

In 2020, Francine cofounded and became the president of Nurses United Against Human Trafficking (NUAHT), a professional association dedicated to abolishing modern-day slavery by educating, equipping, and empowering healthcare professionals about this human rights atrocity. Once educated about human trafficking, Francine realized the significant gap in healthcare professional awareness, understanding, and preparation to address this public health crisis. Realization of this critical knowledge deficit strengthened Francine's determination to do everything possible to prevent healthcare professionals from failing victims of human trafficking.

With this goal in mind, Francine turned to NEF to establish a scholarship focusing on supporting and promoting graduate level nurses developing clinical expertise and specializing in research dedicated to the prevention and eradication of human trafficking.

The Francine Bono-Neri Scholarship will be awarded to nurses in master’s or doctoral programs engaged in the study of human trafficking as well as related clinical and research areas which include forensic nursing, sexual assault, child sexual assault/abuse, sexual exploitation, sextortion, domestic violence, intimate partner violence, adverse childhood experiences, and child maltreatment.

Donations to the Francine Bono-Neri Scholarship Fund will help realize this goal and create a scholarship in perpetuity devoted to the elimination of human trafficking through clinical practice, education, nursing research, and health policy.

To make a donation online, please click here.

Here is the link to a brief article titled "Nursing students' knowledge of and exposure to human trafficking content in undergraduate curricula." written by Francine Bono-Neri and Tammy J. Toney-Butler.