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

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.