The Support of Professional Nurses to Youth Victims of Physical Violence

The Western Cape Province of South Africa has the worst multifactorialcrime problem in the country. It has the fastest growing crime rate in many crime categories, such as rape and gun related incidents. The youth in the Cape Flats faces many challenges, such as drug abuse and high incidents of violent attacks. The youth who are exposed to violence are inclinedto be violent themselves and are at a higher risk of psychopathology. The experiences of the youth after a violent physical incident were unclear. The purpose of this study isto describe actions for the support of professional nurses at a community health centre to youth victims of physical violence in the Cape Flats.

A phenomenological, exploratory, descriptive, contextual design was followed in this study. This studyexplored and described the lived experiences of youth victims of physical violence in terms ofthe support they received in a natural setting at a community health centre in the Cape Flats. Purposive sampling was used for the study, and data saturation determined the size of the sample, that waseightparticipants. Participants were male and female youth members between the ages of18 and 27 years whohad experienced a violent incident and visited a health care centre for follow-up treatment. They were given information sheets that explained the nature of the research project. Individual in-depth interviews were used to collect data. Interviews were conducted in one of the consultation rooms at a community health centre thatwasquiet and whereminimal interruptions occurred.

The researcher sought permission from the participants to conduct the interviews and toaudio record those interviews. All ethical principles were adhered to in this study;that is confidentiality, anonymity, withdrawal, autonomy, and informed consent. Trustworthiness was ensured during the research process.In cases where participants had experienced psychological distress, they could be referred to a psychologist.However,none of the participants displayed any signs of emotional discomfort during the interviews.

Data was analysed using Creswell’s six steps of open coding. All data wouldbe kept under lock and key for five years after the research report has been made available.

Main themes that emerged from the data analysis were related to violent incidents that had a negative impact onthe participant; participants applieddefence mechanisms to deal with their trauma, and participants experiencedcare and support eithernegativelyorpositively.

At the day hospital, the researcher identified a need for continual skills development, especially with regard to the health problems inthatcommunity. This study has confirmedthat the Mitchells Plain community experiencesa high rate of violent incidences. This leaves the community members in fear and most of them end up being victims of drug-related crimes.  It remainsthe duty and responsibility of the hospital staff to be equipped and able to deal with these increasing incidents of caring for victims of physical violence.