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Intimate partner violence among adolescents is an escalating public health concern with serious implications for young people's well-being, safety, and future. Despite its severity, knowledge about the issue remains limited, and it is often not prioritized in schools' preventive efforts. As a central part of young people's daily lives, schools play a crucial role in intimate partner violence prevention.  

This study aims to explore school health professionals’ experiences of working preventively in accordance with national guidelines on intimate partner violence among school students. A qualitative approach was applied, using purposive and criterion-based sampling of participants. Data was collected through five semi structured interviews and analyzed using manifest content analysis. The findings reveal that preventive efforts are often broad and unspecific, with intimate partner violence rarely addressed directly. A lack of long-term planning results in fragmented, short-term initiatives. Although there is strong professional commitment, challenges such as limited resources, time constraints, vague guidelines, and insufficient leadership support hinder the work. 

The theory of street-level bureaucracy contributes to increased understanding of how organizational limitations restrict professionals’ discretion and capacity to implement national policies. The conclusion of the study highlights the need for enhanced training, structural integration, and clear leadership to enable effective and equitable prevention of intimate partner violence among youth.