The mental health of medical students represents a growing challenge for higher education institutions due to high academic demands, long hours of study and clinical practice, and the frequent adoption of unhealthy habits during their training. In Ecuador, where Medicine is one of the most in-demand majors, there is little evidence regarding the magnitude of this problem. To help fill this gap, CISeAL researchers Xavier Sánchez and Ruth Jimbo-Sotomayor, along with faculty members from the School of Medicine and the Family Medicine Postgraduate Program at PUCE, conducted a study on 393 medical students at the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador to assess the presence of symptoms of depression, anxiety, risky alcohol consumption, and their relationship with various health behaviors and sociodemographic factors.
Why, despite economic growth and advances in education and health, does early motherhood continue to disproportionately affect young women in situations of greatest vulnerability? Dr. Ana Lucía Moncayo participated in a study that analyzed the relationship between household income and early motherhood in Mexico based on data from the 2000, 2010, and 2020 national censuses, which included information from more than 30 million women aged 12 to 24. To understand this phenomenon from different perspectives, the researchers combined machine learning tools, Bayesian spatial models, and dynamic structural equation models, which made it possible to evaluate both individual factors and territorial differences associated with early motherhood.
Dr. Venus Medina Maldonado participated in a study that evaluated the psychometric properties and relational structure of the Brief Adverse Childhood Experiences Abuse Short Form (ACE-ASF) among homosexual and heterosexual individuals in Ecuador. The study included 520 participants and aimed to determine whether this instrument reliably and validly measures experiences of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse during childhood, as well as to explore how these experiences are associated with the perception of abuse in intimate relationships during adulthood.
The results demonstrated that the ACE-ASF has high internal consistency and a structure composed of two clearly defined dimensions: physical-emotional abuse and sexual abuse. Furthermore, the instrument was found to maintain its validity and stability regardless of sexual orientation and variables related to the perception of abuse, such as feeling afraid, feeling trapped, or perceiving oneself as being abused in a relationship. These findings support the use of the scale as a robust tool for assessing traumatic experiences across different contexts and populations.
The following study, which involved our CISeAL researcher Venus Medina, analyzes how Ecuadorian women perceive nursing support and the use of non-pharmacological strategies to relieve pain during labor. Through a qualitative approach carried out at the Nueva Aurora Gyneco-Obstetric Pediatric Hospital in Quito, the experiences of 21 women in the immediate postpartum period were collected, revealing that interventions such as guided breathing, walking, sphere therapy, music therapy, and emotional support significantly contributed to transforming childbirth into a more tolerable, safe, and humanized experience. The findings show that participants not only perceived a reduction in pain and anxiety, but also experienced a greater sense of autonomy, calmness, and connection with their newborns.
The following study analyzed health-related quality of life in Ecuadorian patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), as well as its association with anxiety, depression, fatigue, and disability. The research was conducted at Hospital Carlos Andrade Marín between March and June 2025 and included 151 patients, of whom 117 had MS and 34 had NMOSD. The study involved the participation of CISeAL researcher Ruth Jimbo-Sotomayor. The results showed that patients with NMOSD had a significantly more impaired quality of life compared to patients with MS, particularly in the physical and mental components assessed using the MSQOL-54 scale. The most affected domains were physical and emotional limitations, pain, social functioning, and sexual functioning. Furthermore, the study demonstrated that neurological disability was considerably greater in patients with NMOSD, who presented higher EDSS scores, confirming the more disabling nature of this disease compared to multiple sclerosis. In both groups, females and the mestizo population predominated, a relevant finding within the Latin American epidemiological context.
Climate change has become established as one of the main challenges for global public health, with growing impacts on health systems and an urgent demand for trained professionals to address them. In this context, the study analyzes how undergraduate medical training programs in Ecuador have incorporated (or not) this topic between 2019 and 2024, as well as the role that student associations have taken on in addressing these gaps. With the participation of our CISeAL researchers, Damary Jaramillo-Aguilar, Anita G. Villacís, and Katherine Simbaña-Rivera, it is evident that, despite international and national recognition of the relevance of climate change, its integration into medical education remains limited, fragmented, and mostly indirect.
Based on a descriptive analysis of accredited programs and student activities, the findings show that fewer than half of the programs include related courses, and in very few cases is climate change explicitly addressed, even being reduced to isolated sessions within broader courses. This weak incorporation contrasts with the country’s high vulnerability to climate-related phenomena and their effects on communicable and non-communicable diseases, as well as on the social determinants of health. Consequently, this highlights a disconnect between the needs of the national context and the training of future health professionals, limiting their ability to anticipate, prevent, and respond to these challenges.