Knowledge, barriers and facilitators for attention to violence in the metropolitan area of ​​El Salvador, 2018

Abstract

Introduction. In El Salvador, for seven years, guidelines and regulations have been implemented to address all forms of violence. Objective. Identify knowledge, barriers and facilitators of the personnel of the metropolitan area of ​​San Salvador that attends to victims of violence for the compliance with regulations and current guidelines. Methodology. Qualitative design of triangulation of data collected in the metropolitan area of ​​San Salvador, in the Family Health Community Units. A semistructured interview was applied to 36 professionals from the Ministry of Health who attend to people who were victims of violence. Results 69% of the staff has received training in guidelines and 58% in regulations for attention to all forms of violence. Of 10 steps for attention are recognized: medical consultation (94%), interview (92%), emotional support, intervention in crisis (89%), referral, return and interconsultation (81%), avoiding cultural and religious barriers (47 %). 39% of health personnel identified warning signs of violence against women. 56% did not give notice for patient safety. Barriers identified: inadequate training and material resources, inadequate physical space. Identified facilitators: training, team work and suitability of the staff. Conclusion. The knowledge about guidelines and regulations between the health resource, in general, is moderate. Main factors for its execution are the presence of trained personnel and teamwork. The barriers are the lack of training in regulations, laws and gender, lack of personnel and saturation of work, few material resources for information and education in gender violence prevention.