Women exposed to intimate partner violence: a Foucauldian discourse analysis of South African emergency nurses'...

Emergency nurses' understanding and interpretation of intimate partner violence influence the care they provide to women exposed to intimate partner violence.

The aim of this study was to uncover discourses that may help understand emergency nurses' responses towards women exposed to intimate partner violence.

This study used a qualitative design to explore emergency nurses' discourses. Purposive sampling was used to select 15 participants working at an emergency unit in a public hospital in South Africa. Data were collected through three focus group discussions comprised of five emergency nurses each. Foucauldian discourse analysis was used to analyse the transcribed data.

Four themes emerged from the focus group discussions: (1) strong women subject themselves to societal expectations and endure intimate partner violence, (2) women are vulnerable and powerless against intimate partner violence, (3) intimate partner violence is a private and secret phenomenon, and (4) emergency nurses have limited scope to intervene when they encounter women exposed to intimate partner violence.

Emergency nurses are in a position to intervene in intimate partner violence through portraying a non-judgmental approach that lay the foundation for disclosure, supporting women to change their intimate partner violence (IPV) situations, documentation, referral and safety planning.