Percepção de estudantes universitários acerca de sua saúde mental e da contribuição extensionista em sua formação.

Extension projects help to train undergraduate students and contribute to strengthening social responsibility. In this perspective, the project "Chama a FPS" emerged to bring students closer to mental health issues such as bullying, violence, harmful use of alcohol and other drugs, anxiety, depression, and suicide. The present study evaluated mental health and the use of alcohol and other drugs by extension students, as well as their perception of the contribution of the 'Chama a FPS' (Call the FPS) extension project in their academic careers. This article is a descriptive and exploratory study with qualitative methodology conducted with extensionists from a higher education institution in Recife-PE. For data collection, a questionnaire with sociodemographic information, academic training, life habits, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD) was used, in addition to an interview script constructed by the authors of this study. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and later analyzed and classified according to Minayo's proposal. The participants were 27 university students, primarily women (62%), white (59.3%), single (92.6%), and medical students (59.3%). The narratives highlighted significant changes in the education of those involved when participating in the extension project, emphasizing the integral view of the subject. The perception of social responsibility, related to the extension project, points out the relevance of the stimulus to the creation and maintenance of this type of training that is concerned with preparation beyond the professional sphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]