Violence and health professionals in primary health care.

Abstract

The professionals who work on primary health care are affected by violence as they deal with very diverse patients. This exploratory descriptive study, with a qualitative approach, aimed at determining the situations in which primary health care professionals suffer aggressions. Data were collected in 2007, and included all members of a primary health care unit. Content analysis revealed seven categories of answers: work process in primary health care; health needs of the population; the risk of exposure to aggression; the aggressor; the types of aggression suffered; and the role of health management and health professionals in the primary health care context. The study showed the factors associated to risk of exposure to violence and its consequences, contributing with information and knowledge that may mitigate these events.