Importancia del dominio del idioma quechua en estudiantes de odontología de la Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco

Abstract

Quechua is spoken in some regions of Latin America, in many rural and urban areas in Peru, and used by patients when they go to health facilities in rural areas in the Cusco region. The objective was to determine the importance and mastery of the Quechua language in dental students at the Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco. Quantitative research of descriptive scope. On a sample of 153 students, the importance of the Quechua language was measured through a questionnaire and receptive and productive skills were evaluated through interviews. 61.4% of those evaluated were female students, 72.5% had urban origins and 85.6% had Spanish as their mother tongue. 94.1% of the population stated that mastery of the Quechua language is important. Regarding receptive and productive skills, 31.4% and 12.4% presented an advanced level respectively. Dental students consider language proficiency important for their future professional practice.