POWER DEVICES USED BY NURSES TO FIGHT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

DISPOSITIVOS DE PODER UTILIZADOS POR ENFERMEROS PARA EL ENFRENTAMIENTO DE LA VIOLENCIA DOMÉSTICA CONTRA LA MUJER

Objective  to identify the power devices used by nurses to fight domestic violence against women from the perspective of parrhesia.

Method  qualitative study addressing 20 nursts from 13 Primary Heath Care units located in Rio Grande, South of Brazil. Interviews were held from April to June 2018, and data were treated using NVIVO 11 under the light of the Discursive Textual Analysis and Foucault's philosophical framework.

Result  two categories emerged from the analysis: (1) knowledge devices and (2) administrative/institutional devices. The first refers to the nurses’ actions, such as sharing information concerning domestic violence against women and the second concerns the health units’ actions to fight violence and referrals to other sectors focused on providing care to women experiencing domestic violence.

Conclusion  nurses use power devices to support women so they can transform their lives. Nursing can promote social transformations as it is engaged with actions intended to promote health.

DESCRIPTORS:
Violence against women; Domestic violence; Gender and health; Nursing