Organization of professional practices against intrafamily violence against children and adolescents in the institutional context.
Gabriele Schek, Mara Regina Santos da Silva, Carl Lacharité and 1 others
PMID 28591297WHAT IT FOUND
Professionals reported that power dynamics and rigid institutional routines override clinical judgment in child abuse cases.
Nurses described having their assessments interrupted by doctors, while staff across sectors noted that high caseloads and bureaucratic reporting demands leave insufficient time to build trust with victims.
Key findings
01Nurses reported that their care for victims and families is sometimes interrupted due to decisions made by physicians.
02Institutional routines are driven by service demand rather than patient need, with one professional noting they have only five minutes per patient in violence situations.
03Lack of consensus on whether violence is a health or social problem leads to fragmented care and families navigating a long journey for treatment.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study was conducted in a single municipality in Brazil, so the institutional structures and cultural dynamics may not apply to other healthcare systems. The sample size is small (15 professionals) and limited to specific service types, which may not capture the full range of experiences across different regions or disciplines.
Declared interests
The study was supported by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), Brazil. No other conflicts of interest were declared.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret these findings as evidence that specific interventions fail. This is a qualitative description of systemic barriers and professional perceptions in one Brazilian municipality, not a quantitative measure of patient outcomes or treatment efficacy.