Educational processes to combat violence against women in the health sector: an integrative review

Abstract

The health sector can contribute to the combat of violence against women, if its services offer qualified care, but there are challenges such as the lack of health professional qualification, even though it is provided in the National Policy to Combat Violence Against Women. This study aims to analyze how health workers have been qualified to act in the prevention and confrontation of violence against women in Brazil. An integrative literature review was made and sixteen articles were analyzed, addressing training trajectories and experience reports, both in the academic and the health service context. The training on this theme proved to be insufficient, which could lead to missed opportunities for detection, care and referral of these cases to the health sector or others related to the care network. Reports on educational experiences were identified in degree courses and in Primary Health Care services, which could boost future educational processes, a need reaffirmed in all the articles. The university, in collaboration with the Unified Health System (SUS), can contribute with reflective, participatory educational processes that consider the social complexity of violence against women.