Abstract

IZAZOLA-LICEA, José Antonio et al. Teaching and including HIV/AIDS in the curricula of a medical school sample in Mexico. Gac. Méd. Méx [online]. 2005, vol.141, n.6, pp.483-488. ISSN 2696-1288.

Background: The HIV/AIDS epidemic is a public health problem that has had an impact on all health systems around the world. Mexico is no exception. Although it has been acknowledged that we have a concentrated epidemic, the problem continues to grow. Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate if the medical school curricula in Mexico included the topic of HIV/AIDS and to assess the level of knowledge medical students have about this disease. Material and Methods: Descriptive study of eight medical schools interviewing pre graduate medical students. Results: Only 15% of the curricula of private medical schools and 21.7% of public schools included the subject of HIV/AIDS. Although it is difficult to standardize this finding, an average of 8.8 hours was assigned to the study of HIV/AIDS. 90% of the professors involved in teaching the topic of HIV/AIDS had no clinical experience in the field. Conclusion: HIV/AIDS is a low priority subject in our medical school curricula. Efforts must be placed to standardize and reinforce this highly important topic.

Keywords : Teaching; HIV/AIDS; medical school; Mexico.