title: [Undergraduate students in Public Health: a socio-demographic profile and motivations].
abstract: Undergraduate Courses in Public Health (UCPH) feature a new way of teaching in the Public Health field that aims to educate professionals focused on the main health needs of the Brazilian population and on the Unified Health System. Thus, it is relevant to know the students' socio-demographic profile including their interests in relation to education and professional development. Adopting a quantitative approach with these objectives, a survey was conducted with 304 UCPH students who filled out a semi-structured questionnaire in 2010 in the following federal universities: Acre, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro and Rio Grande do Norte. The overwhelming majority was female, around 26 years of age, single, living with their parents, mostly attended public school, came from lower classes with lower educational background, approved night classes, worked, and contributed to their family incomes. They aspired to work in public sector - preferably in the state capitals - and they saw UCPH as an opportunity to work in the public health field. This profile reveals challenges and advances in the intended education, reinforcing the need to monitor the UCPH development process.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Saúde Coletiva, Universidade Federal da Bahia. Rua Basílio da Gama s/n, Canela. 40110-040 Salvador BA. mcastellanos73@gmail.com
authors.forename: Marcelo Eduardo Pfeiffer
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Castellanos
authors.forename: Terezinha de Lisieux Quesado
authors.initials: Tde L
authors.lastname: Fagundes
authors.forename: Tânia Celeste Matos
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Nunes
authors.forename: Célia Regina Rodrigues
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Gil
authors.forename: Isabela Cardoso de Matos
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Pinto
authors.forename: Soraya Almeida
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Belisário
authors.forename: Solange Veloso
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Viana
authors.forename: Guilherme Torres
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Correa
authors.forename: Raphael Augusto Teixeira
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: de Aguiar
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001938:Brazil; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D011634:Public Health / Q000193:education*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult