Factores asociados al riesgo de deserción universitaria en estudiantes de ciencias de la salud

Introduction: University dropout impedes the personal and professional growth of students and has a direct impact on the development of a country. Objective: To estimate the factors associated with the risk of university dropout in health sciences students. Methods: Cross-sectional and analytical study, conducted in a private university in the region of Ica (Peru), between September and December 2023, with 347 students. A questionnaire with sociodemographic, academic and labor variables was used; and the main variable was evaluated by means of the scale for measuring university student dropout. A descriptive and multivariate statistical analysis was performed using generalized linear models of the Poisson family to evaluate the association between variables. Results: 83.3 % of the students were female; 85 % were in first cycles; 18.2 % dropped out at some point and 89 % were younger than 25 years old. The socioeconomic (RPa= 2.63; 95 % CI: 1.84-3.02) and personality (RPa= 1.78; 95 % CI: 1.50-2.13) factors were associated with a higher risk of dropping out of university, while studying nursing (RPa= 0.760; 95 % CI: 0.604-0.956) was associated with a lower risk of dropping out. Likewise, studying obstetrics presented an unadjusted association. Conclusions: The risk of university dropout is high in health sciences students.