Learning approaches in students of the areas of Health Sciences belonging to a regional university in Chile

Introduction: in university education, various factors such as emotional aspects, behavior and cognitive elements influence the participation of students in the learning process. The students who achieve the best results are those who participate metacognitively, with motivation and active behavior, also considering contextual and personal factors. It is at this point where the learning approach plays a fundamental role in understanding academic performance.Methods: in the present research, 277 health sciences students from a Chilean public university were evaluated using a Spanish version of the R-SPQ-2F questionnaire to evaluate learning approaches, motives and strategies.Results: most of the students presented a predominantly deep learning approach, although with a low intensity. At the strategy level, 32.85% presented a superficial approach. Significant differences were found between the approaches and between their respective subscales.Conclusions: Those who present a deep approach usually present deep strategies and motives. The presence of deep motivation without a deep type of strategy is usually associated with a superficial approach.