Coping with domestic violence against children and adolescents from the perspective of primary care nurses.

Objective: To analyse the actions reported by primary care nurses in the fight against domestic violence against children and adolescents.

Methods: Qualitative research conducted at five family health centres in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Data were collected in the second half of 2013 through semi-structured.

Results: Two thematic cores emerged: "Public policies identified by the nurses" and "Nurses' actions regarding violence permeated by fear and conflicts". The nurses were familiar with public policies, but they were unable to put them into practice; they were unprepared to identify and cope with the violence; they did not participate in training courses; they were afraid to report the detected cases of violence.

Conclusion: The main limitations to the practical work of nurses are work burden, lack of security, and the dynamics of work that is not articulated with the protection network, which causes the underreporting of cases of domestic violence.