Introduction

Participants and methods

Results and discussion

Conclusion

References

Abstract

Objective
To determine the potential and limitations of Primary Health Care professionals to identify situations of violence against women.
Location
A municipality of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Design
Descriptive and exploratory study with a qualitative approach.
Participants
Twenty-one health professionals of three Family Health Strategy units, as well as one Basic Health Unit. The inclusion criterion consisted of being a health worker in these services. The exclusion criterion was to be absent from work by any kind type license during the period of data production.
Method
The technique used to produce data was individual, semi-structured, interviews in order to collect sociodemographic data and the monitoring by professionals related to the potentials and limitations to identify violence situations. The data collection was suspended based on the saturation criterion. The data were systematized and analyzed by the content analysis technique, according to the analytical categories of health care network and gender.
Results
The potential to identify themes were: professional experience, receptive atmosphere, bonding, and listening to the reports of women, children and/or neighbors and observing their behavior; to identify the lesions; prenatal consultations; and home visits. As to the limitations: silence, denial/non-recognition of violence, lack of complaints by women; fear and guilt; flaws and unpreparedness of the health team; and fear due to the presence of aggressor.
Conclusions
It is urgent to recognize the potential of Primary Care and to promote the qualification of professionals in order to identify the situation among visible and invisible complaints, leading to the confrontation of violence.

Introduction

Violence against women is a kind violation of human rights that affect women from all over the world, presenting a high prevalence and impact on health services. It is defined as every act of violence against women that cause physical, psychological and sexual suffering, as well threats and deprivation of freedom. It is permeated and determined by gender issues and has as intrinsic component the divergences between sexes, and it represents the social relations of power and the different roles of men and women. It is estimated that 30% of women around the world have experienced physical and/or sexual violence. Studies point to the consequences of violence to women’s health. As for mental health, they point to psychiatric problems, such as depressive disorders, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, somatoform and personality disorder. Also, the use of licit and illicit substances and psychotropic and analgesic medication. Sleep-related disorders, improper feeding, body aches, bruises, low self-esteem and panic syndrome are also presented by these women. In this context, the health sector has fundamental assignments in the intersectoral response to the violence against women as well the identification the kind of violence, a prerequisite for providing immediate care and conducting referrals to specialized services. So, it is important that attention to women’s health in situation of violence occur in the Health Care Network (HCN), which is a network of organizations that provides or makes arrangements to offer equitable and integral health services to a specific population.