Preventing school violence: an evaluation of an intervention program

School violence (bullying), is currently considered a growing public health issue across the globe. It is essential to intervene in order to improve the quality of life of children/ adolescents at school. Therefore, it should be a research priority to include the issue in the agenda of nurses. The objective of this study was to evaluate the results of an antiviolence program implemented with 307 secondary level students in a school in Lisbon. The evaluation before and after the program was performed using a questionnaire that was elaborated and validated for this study. We found that before the intervention, there was a high level of bullying (50% victims and 35% aggressors), and that the aggressions also included teachers (7%) and other school workers (9%). The program consisted of building awareness/preparation in teachers and parents and practicing social competencies among the students. After the intervention significant results were observed in the global reduction of school violence.