Atitudes, conhecimento e barreiras científicas entre estudantes de medicina de uma universidade em Sergipe: estudo longitudinal

Abstract

Introduction: Extracurricular activities participation such as research and extension allow students to develop skills. However, the literature reports the existence of barriers to the development of scientific practice in undergraduate courses. Previous studies were able to assess the target population only in a single moment. Objectives: To evaluate longitudinally the levels of knowledge, attitudes and scientific barriers of medical students. Casuistics and Methods: Longitudinal observational study carried out with medical students from Campus Prof. Antônio Garcia Filho of the Federal University of Sergipe. A questionnaire was applied to 23 students at two different times, 2015 and 2017, with 4 sections: Demographic, Scientific Knowledge, Favorable Attitudes to Scientific Practice and Barriers to Scientific experience. Results: In the analyzed period, there was an increase of more than 300% (p <0.0001) in the participation of students in Academic Leagues, as well as with regard to their scientific attitudes (increase of 21.80%; p <0, 01). When assessing knowledge scores and scientific barriers, no difference was observed between the two periods. Although, in the analysis of barriers alone, there was a significant increase (p <0.05) in dedication to curricular activities, lack of familiarity with statistics, and there was also an increase in the percentage of students who did not see the application of research in their future profession. Conclusion: Despite the improvement in attitudes, there was an increase in scientific barriers. Thus, there is a need to reduce the difficulties encountered by students and further encourage scientific practice.