Nurses’ performance in front of children and adolescents in situations of sexual violence: An integrative review of the literature

Abstract

Objective: To describe, through a bibliographic survey, the role of the professional Nurse in relation to children and adolescents in situations of sexual violence, aiming to highlight the role of nurses in this type of assistance. Method: An integrative review study carried out in the LILACS, SciELO and BDENF databases, using the PRISMA recommendations (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses). Seven full articles were listed, published between 2010 and 2020. Results: We found many publications on the subject. Among the findings, national, qualitative studies with an exploratory-descriptive method predominate. In addition, the articles show that the difficulties that nurses encounter when performing this type of care are notorious, whether due to lack of knowledge, fear of making mistakes and even the taboo in which the subject is involved. Conclusion: The results allow us to conclude that sexual abuse in minors is a major challenge for sectors and professionals, as it demands investments and more permanent training actions for nurses in all health care networks for better assistance by this professional. , as well as improving the guidelines that nurses can pass on to family members regarding the issue of complaints.