Zaidan BC, Rossetti A, Vergara MLS, Bollela VR, Teixeira LAS. Community outreach as a learning setting: medical narratives of a curricular outreach experience on arboviruses. Interface (Botucatu). 2026; 30: e250373 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/interface.250373
Abstract
Brazil’s pioneering efforts in including community outreach activities in university curricula have developed simultaneously with the challenge of consolidating them as activities that impact professional training. This article investigates medical students’ perceptions of outreach activities related to arboviruses. The reflective narratives written by the students were submitted to thematic analysis using the IRAMUTEQ software, which produced a descending hierarchical classification, a similarity analysis, and a word cloud. In addition, excerpts that demonstrated students’ perceptions of the experience were extracted. The analyses revealed the recognition of the importance of endemic disease control agents and the intensity of the experience outside the university. Reflections on human relationships and the expansion of the concept of collective health in practice stood out. The study revealed the teaching potential of community outreach activities and the possible knowledge exchange between academia and the community.
Keywords
Community outreach; Arbovirus infections; Narrative medicine
Access in: https://doi.org/10.1590/interface.250373
