Percepções de cirurgiões-dentistas da atenção primária à saúde sobre a violência contra mulheres

Abstract

The violence situation constitutes a set of complex injuries that reaches people of all ages and genders. Violence against women, besides being a crime, is also considered a huge public health problem, not only in Brazil, but worldwide. Victims of this situation seek assistance in health services places, however, most professionals have difficulties in providing adequate assistance. The literature shows that there is a high prevalence of injuries caused by domestic violence on head and neck areas, which are dentists’ occupation sites. Understanding how these professionals perceive gender violence and take care of these women is essential to qualify them to a proper user embracement, to provide adequate assistance and to notify cases. The objective of this study was to know the perceptions of dentists who work in primary health care in a city of Minas Gerais, about violence against women treated in the Public Health Network. So, a qualitative research was carried out through semi-structured interviews with dentists working in Primary Health Care points, selected through the “Snowball” method. Interviews were ceased when saturation has been achieved. The data were systematically categorized and analyzed using Thematic Content Analysis. Four categories were identified: “perceptions about violence”, “a costly encounter”, “listening limits” and “possibilities of care”. In the first category, it was discussed how professionals understand violence and its invisibility in service places. In the second one, the interviewees' difficulties in dealing violence were brought up. In the third one, technical issues of working processes had emerged. And in the last category, perspectives of care and professional training deficit were revealed. It could be observed that violence against women has dental practice repercussions, and debates on identification, conduct, management difficulties, lack of professional training and interventions in services to guarantee women's rights and the victim insertion in a social protection network are important. Producing research in this theme is to bring light to the debate on public policies that aim to minimize the gender violence damage, both, in women’s lives and for society as one. This project was submitted to the Ethics Committee for Research on Human Beings of the Federal University of Uberlândia (CEP) in accordance with Resolutions No. 466, December 12th, 2012 and No. 510, April 7th, 2016, from the National Health Council, (CAAE: 42599520.8.0000.5152), being approved according to No. 4,653,579.