Self-perception of creativity and innovation competences in University Students in Health Science: Development factors

Abstract

Introduction: In the new context for higher education, soft skills, such as creativity and innovation, are paramount for health professionals. Thus, it is relevant to assess their behavior. Aim: To establish levels of creativity and innovation self-perception in a sample of students, and to evaluate if there is a statistically significant association among them and intrinsic (gender and age) and extrinsic factors (career major and progress in the academic program). Method: A cross-sectional, non-experimental design is used. Data was collected using the Chilean adaptation of the "Cuestionario de Competencias Creativas e Innovadoras 3CI”, which was filled out by a stratified probabilistic sample of 413 students of a health sciences faculty. The software programs R and Jamovi were used for statistical analysis. Results: Factorial analysis of the questionnaire yields 5 dimensions, the scores of which allowed to characterize the sample regarding levels of self-perception in creativity and innovation. Pearson correlation coefficient indicates that the only significant association (p<0.01) was between the level and orientation of creativity-innovation, and age. Conclusions: This study contributes with an adaptation for Chile of the original questionnaire, which meets the standards of reliability and validity, proposing an alternative to investigate the state of these competences, based on levels of development and direction.