UNDERGRADUATE COURSE IN COLLECTIVE HEALTH: ANALYSIS OF THE STUDENT DROPOUT PROFILE

Schooh dropout is the discontinuity of a course, whether due to factors internal or external to the academic environment. The Bachelor's undergraduate degree in Public Health at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) has a significant dropout rate, prompting investigations into related factors. Thus, the objective was to analyze the dropout profile of the UFRN Public Health undergraduate degree in the period from 2010 to 2020.1 through a sectional, descriptive, exploratory study, with a quantitative and qualitative approach. To this end, primary data from a sample of 45 individuals with a history of school dropout were captured via a Google Forms® questionnaire. In this way, the five objective questions (gender, year of entry, year of withdrawal, reason for withdrawal, reason for demotivation) were analyzed by absolute and relative frequencies of occurrence, calculated with Google Spreadsheets and content analysis was applied to the questions. qualitative data arising from the open question (impressions and/or suggestions for the course). As a result, it was identified that school dropout occurred, for the most part, among females, aged 26 to 30 years, in the first and second year of the course, due to lack of motivation with undergraduation, entry into another undergraduate degree, in a graduate course. and the fact of being a student worker. Specifically, demotivation is related to non-identification with the Public Health undergraduate degree, low job expectations in the field of Public Health, course teachers and weaknesses in secondary education. Therefore, the study identified the profile of dropouts and the reasons for discontinuity, indicating strategies to encourage retention (vocational guidance, adjustments to the curriculum, academic support initiatives for students).