Integrative and complementary health practices among university students: reasons for use or non-use

Carvalho, Vinicius Pereira de; Coelho, Maria Thereza Ávila Dantas; Carmo, Maria Beatriz Barreto do

doi:10.1590/S0104-12902024220953en

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Original articles • Saude soc. 33 (1) • 2024 • https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-12902024220953en copy

Integrative and complementary health practices among university students: reasons for use or non-use¹ 1 This work was carried out with the support of the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brazil (CAPES) - Financing Code 001, a scientific initiation scholarship provided by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) - Process 138842/2021- 3 and a Technical Research Support grant - AT - 1A from the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) - Process 372273/2022-0

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Abstract

The objective of this study is to understand the reasons for use or non-use of the integrative and complementary practices among university health students. It is a quantitative and qualitative research, with data collected with questionnaires (667) and interviews (34), and investigated by content analysis. Therapeutic effects, family influence, and offer of alternatives to biomedicine were the main reasons for use of integrative and complementary practices, while the absence of demand, disinterest, and lack of opportunity were the most frequent barriers for use. Therefore, the motivations for use emphasize advantages obtained with these practices and some contexts that determine their adoption. Regarding the barriers for use, a scenario of low availability and dominance of biomedicine in contemporary western culture stands out. Therefore, these results corroborate the demand to confront the monoculture of biomedicine, as well as the inclusion of integrative practices in higher health education. Thus, university can be built on dialogues between different cultures in health, facilitating the use of non-hegemonic practices and expanding the epistemic bases of care in the formation and the life of the academic community.

Keywords:
Complementary Therapies; Students; Health; Universities

Characteristic	N	%
Gender
Cisgender woman² 2 Transgenderness/transvestility refers to non-self-identification with the gender assigned at birth, while cisgender is related to self-identification with the gender assigned at birth.	454	68.07
Cisgender man	207	31.03
Transvestite	1	0.15
Other gender	2	0.3
Did not answer	3	0.45
Family income
Up to 1 minimum wage	134	20.09
From 2 to 4 minimum wages	269	40.33
From 5 to 7 minimum wages	158	23.68
From 8 to 10 minimum wages	41	6.15
Above 10 minimum wages	48	7.2
Did not answer	17	2.55
Work
Yes	106	15.89
No	557	83.51
Did not answer	4	0.6
Access to public health services
Yes	473	70.91
No	188	28.19
Did not answer	6	0.9
Private health plan
Yes	354	53.07
No	312	46.78
Did not answer	1	0.15
Semester
1st and 2nd semester	467	70.01
3rd and 4th semester	119	17.84
5th and 6th semester	42	6.3
7th and 8th semester	7	1.05
Undetermined	5	0.75
Did not answer	27	4.05
Number of subjects enrolled in the semester
3 or less	69	10.34
4 or 5	402	60.27
6 or 7	129	19.34
8 or 9	42	6.3
10 or more	16	2.4
Did not answer	9	1.35

Faculdade de Saúde Pública, Universidade de São Paulo. Associação Paulista de Saúde Pública. Av. dr. Arnaldo, 715, Prédio da Biblioteca, 2º andar sala 2, 01246-904 São Paulo - SP - Brasil, Tel./Fax: +55 11 3061-7880 - São Paulo - SP - Brazil
E-mail: saudesoc@usp.br

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[1] Correspondence Vinicius Pereira de Carvalho Rua Barão de Jeremoabo, PAF V (Sala 208b), s/n. Salvador, BA, Brasil. CEP 40170-115.