Mental Health, Engagement, and Academic Motivation among Engineering Students: A Community-Based Participatory Research Project at the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo / Saúde Mental, Engajamento e Motivação Acadêmica entre Estudante

This interdisciplinary project, conceived through a partnership between the Department of Psychiatry of the University of São Paulo School of Medicine (FMUSP) and the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo (Poli-USP), aims to investigate factors associated with mental health, engagement, motivation, and academic performance of engineering students, in light of recent curricular transformations. Based on the principles of health promotion and equity, the study seeks to produce applied knowledge that guides institutional interventions to create healthier, more inclusive, and sustainable academic environments. The research adopts a Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) approach, structured as a mixed-methods, multiphase, longitudinal, observational cohort study with an expected four-year duration (2025–2028). The project will monitor a total sample of 3,020 undergraduate students, selected from four admission cohorts (2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024), as well as faculty affiliated with Poli-USP's undergraduate program. The sampling is stratified by program and semester, ensuring a diversity of student trajectories and experiences. Data collection will be conducted in several phases, involving: Quantitative instruments, such as the GAD-7, PHQ-9, CBI-S, ASSIST, UWES-S, Academic Motivation Scale, QIS, PSQI, ESE, as well as secondary data extracted from Poli-USP's academic records; Qualitative instruments, including in-depth interviews, focus groups with students and faculty, classroom observations, field diaries, and document analysis. Data analysis will be guided by Urie Bronfenbrenner's ecological model, allowing us to understand how individual, relational, institutional, and contextual factors interact to affect students' mental health and academic trajectory. Qualitative data will be analyzed through thematic content analysis using ATLAS.ti software, while quantitative data will be processed with descriptive and inferential statistical analysis and predictive models using SPSS software. The project also includes a phase of developing collaborative actions, the participatory construction of indicators of adherence and fidelity to curricular changes, and a formative and summative evaluation within the collaborative research network. The results will be disseminated through seminars, accessible promotional materials, and academic publications. This study is expected to provide relevant evidence for improving institutional policies aimed at caring for the mental health of university students, contributing to critical reflection on the impacts of curricular and pedagogical reforms in higher education, especially in highly demanding academic fields such as engineering.