title: Perception of nursing students about couples' violence: knowledge, beliefs and professional role.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  to analyse the knowledge, beliefs and perception of the professional role that nursing students have, about exerted violence against women in relationships.
  
  
  METHODS
  a descriptive qualitative study following the ecological model through 16 focus groups realized with 112 students from four nursing courses of four Spanish universities.
  
  
  RESULTS
  the analytical categories were: knowledge, professional role, and beliefs about ones behaviour before the victim and the abuser. Students are unfamiliar with the characteristics of abuse, guidelines, protocols and screening questions and demand patterns for specific intervention. They do not identify their own professional role, be it delegated or specialized. Beliefs regarding their behaviour with the victim, not guided by professional criteria, perceive violence as a specific situation and disassociate the prevention of health care. They perceive the abuser as mentally ill, justifying the tolerance or delegation of performances.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  students define preconceived ideas about couples' violence. Speeches reproduce and reinforce stereotypical myths, values indicative of inadequate training for nursing studies which raises the need to fortify the competencies in relation to intimate couples' violence in the curriculum.
authors: Escuela Universitaria de Enfermería, Universidad de Barcelona, Barcelona, ES.
authors: Assumpció
authors: A
authors: Rigol-Cuadra
authors: Departamento de Enfermería, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallés, Barcelona, ES.
authors: Paola
authors: P
authors: Galbany-Estragué
authors: Departamento de Enfermería, Universitat de Girona, Girona, ES.
authors: Concepció
authors: C
authors: Fuentes-Pumarola
authors: Departamento de Enfermería, Universidad Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, ES.
authors: Maria Dolors
authors: MD
authors: Burjales-Martí
authors: Escuela Universitaria de Enfermería, Universidad de Barcelona, Barcelona, ES.
authors: Dolors
authors: D
authors: Rodríguez-Martín
authors: Departamento de Enfermería, Universitat de Girona, Girona, ES.
authors: David
authors: D
authors: Ballester-Ferrando
mesh_terms: D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D000066511:Intimate Partner Violence; D008297:Male; D024802:Nurse's Role; D013338:Students, Nursing