Use and consequences of alcoholism: an educational action for students

Abstract

ABSTRACT
Introduction: it is increasingly noticeable the reduction of the age in which teenagers begin their experiences with alcohol and other drugs, influenced by friends, family or the media. However, they never know what are the real consequences in the short and in the long run caused by the excess of alcohol. Facing this picture, the freshman students of medicine of Pontificia Universidade Catolica of Sao Paulo - PUC - SP developed an educational act in a state primary school on the periphery of the city of Sorocaba, in the middle of the State of Sao Paulo.  Methods: the methods employed consisted on the application of an initial questionnaire or pre-activity, with the objective of evaluating what the former knowledge of the students; an activity/group discussion about the theme; a presentation about the risks of abusive alcohol intake, with the interaction of the students who showed pieces of pathological livers fixed using formaldehyde, and, finally, a post activity questionnaire. Goal: to evaluate the level of knowledge of these students about the risks linked with the consumption of alcohol and other drugs. Results: the main results obtained indicate that 50.5% of the students have consumed alcohol at some point. After the activity, it was possible to verify that the level of knowledge of the students about health problems caused by abusive alcohol intake increased significantly, mainly about the concentration of fat in the liver (hepatic steatosis). Conclusion: with educating actions, it was verified that it is possible to increase the knowledge about a specific theme, and that they contribute to the beginning of a process of a change in behavior.