Violence manifestation in the university environment: Nursing undergraduate students view

Abstract

Introduction The nurses occupy the first position of victims of workplace violence in health professionals' ranking. While graduation students, are victims of different aggressions. Objectives The goal of this study was to investigate the perception of nursing students of a Brazilian public university about violence manifestation in the university environment. Aims Knowing the nursing students perception about violence in the university environment. Method This is a qualitative descriptive exploratory study where a semi-structuralized interview was used. Results The thematic content analysis allowed us to detect three categories: interpersonal violence in the relationships established in the course, as victim or perpetrator and reasons for the occurrence of the violence. The findings pointed out power relation inequalities and the occurrence of different types of violence and the trend in naturalize them. The results point the necessity to create a system that facilitates abuses denunciation and that offers support to the victims; investments in intervention programs that offer knowledge on this subject and improve the academic relations and prevent maltreatments; and the inclusion of the violence subject in the graduation curricula. Conclusion The professors, as educators and models for future professionals, must search knowledge on the subject and their participation as perpetrators or victims. They must participate of qualification courses that teach them to face the violence in the academic environment. In such a way, pupils and professors are trained to identify and to deal with violence in the academic environment and out of it.