Sjuksköterskors upplevelser av att möta våldsutsatta kvinnor inom sjukvården

Sammanfattning: Background: Women are exposed to violence in intimate relationships much more than men and this is a global health problem. Nurses have a responsibility to identify violence in intimate relationships and meet these women in a professional way. Previous research indicates a lack of response from nurses towards women who experience violence in close relationships. Aim: The aim was to describe nurses´ experiences of meeting abused women in healthcare. Method: A literature-based study where eight articles have been analyzed through qualitative design with the support of Friberg's five-step model.  Results: The results showed that nurses experience a strong emotional impact in the meeting with the vulnerable women. They were worried about both women and themselves, which affected them privately. They had to suppress their feelings and they experienced professional dilemmas. It also emerged that lack of time and lack of knowledge was an obstacle to asking the vulnerable women the question. When knowledge and experience existed, a feeling of security was created. Conclusion: Based on this result, the conclusions can be drawn that nurses need additional knowledge about the topic of violence to feel secure in their professional role to meet and identify the women. It is also clear that nurses need strategies to deal with the emotional impact and to have clear guidelines for how the question of violence should be asked.