Social representations of nurses concerning domestic violence against women: study with a structural approach

• Published in: Revista gaúcha de enfermagem 2018-07, Vol.39, p.e61308-e61308
• Main Authors: Acosta, Daniele Ferreira, Gomes, Vera Lúcia de Oliveira, Oliveira, Denize Cristina de, Marques, Sérgio Corrêa, Fonseca, Adriana Dora da
• Format: Article
• Language: eng ; por
• Subjects: Adhesins, Bacterial; Aggression; Attitude of Health Personnel; Battered Women; Delivery of Health Care; Domestic Violence - psychology; Domestic Violence - statistics & numerical data; Escherichia coli Proteins; Female; Gender-Based Violence - psychology; Gender-Based Violence - statistics & numerical data; Hospital Departments; Hospitals, University; Hospitals, Voluntary; Humans; Interviews as Topic; Male; Nurses - psychology; Qualitative Research; Social Perception; Stereotyping; Verbal Behavior
• ISSN: 0102-6933
• DOI: 10.1590/1983-1447.2018.61308

To analyse the structure and contents of the social representations of nurses concerning domestic violence against women. This is a qualitative study conducted with 100 nurses between May and September 2014 in two hospitals of Rio Grande, RS, Brazil. Data were collected through evocations and semi-structured interviews. The data were processed in Evoc software and subjected to contextual analysis, respectively. A negative representation was identified with core elements alluding to forms of violence and its judgment, expressed as "physical aggression" and "contempt". In the periphery, "fear" is how the professionals and the victims feel toward the aggressor and "submission" is mentioned as a cause of violence. The term "verbal aggression" in the contrast zone suggests the possibility of a subgroup with a different representation. A centralised view regarding physical injuries and the culpabilisation of domestic abuse victims can limit care actions, revealing the need to discuss this subject with health workers.