QUARA Project – Prevalence of abuse, mistreatment and other forms of aggression during medical education: a cross-sectional study in São Paulo, Brazil, 2013

Abstract

Introduction: Studies describe a high prevalence of aggression, abuse and mistreatment between medical students and suggest that victimized students feel more depressed, unsatisfied with the medical career and tend to have a lower self-esteem. The studies that estimate the magnitude of this problem in Brazil are rare. Our goal is to estimate the prevalence of abuse, mistreatment and other aggressions between medical students during graduation considering the type, perpetuator, frequency and perceived severity. Methods: Cross-sectional study with medical students from a Brazilian university. An online survey was sent to 1072 students - 344 responded and 317 were included in this analysis. The data was collected with REDCap, between 09/11/2013 and 12/13/2013. Results: The average age was 22,24 years (+-2,89), 49% were men and about 45% were basic stage students. Most (92.31%) reported suffering at least one type of aggression during the graduation. The most common type was belittlement/humiliation (73.1%), followed by verbal aggression (59.99%). The prevalence of sexual abuse or discrimination was high (43.32%) and 13% reported physical violence. The main perpetuators are, respectively, the students themselves (83.75%) and the teachers (72.8%). About 30% of the students have been assaulted 5 or more times and 70% of the victims consider the episodes very important. Conclusion: The prevalence of aggression, abuse and mistreatment is high between medical students. The episodes are repetitive and considered severe by the victims. It is necessary to investigate the consequences of these situations for the mental health and the quality of life of these students.