IO, Tasikmalaya – A total of 32 students from the 2018 class, along with six lecturers from the Faculty of Nursing, University of Indonesia (FIK UI) held a Community Service program entitled “Promoting Health through Clean and Healthy Behavior (PHBS) for the Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases in the Community” in Naga Village, Tasikmalaya District, West Java, at the end of November 2019.
Community service activities were carried out in the form of counseling on hypertension prevention, instructions on six steps of washing hands with soap, health screening of children and residents, and reporting on the results of screening to village officials. Counseling is delivered in Sundanese so that people easily understand the material presented.
Counseling is done not only by providing material, but also creatively, such as by playing snakes and ladders in teaching PHBS, so that children learn with fun and happiness.
“This Community Service activity is a form of FIK UI’s contribution to supporting healthy development in Indonesia by utilizing the resources we and the community have. We want to remind the public that healthy behavior must be instilled early on to create a healthy community in the future,” said Chairman of the FIK UI Community Teams, Dr. Enie Novieastari, S.Kp., MSN, as quoted by UI’s public relations.
In the screening carried out by the FIK UI Community Services Team, it was found that 42% of 72 people suffer from hypertension or high blood pressure. Certainly, this is a cause for concern because if not treated hypertension can trigger heart attacks or kidney disorders. For this reason, people need to be educated about the importance of healthy living, including controlling food intake and exercising regularly.
This community service activity is a part of the 34th Anniversary of FIK UI. This concrete action was appreciated by the local community, given the fact that established health services are located quite distant from Kampung Naga.
“We are very pleased with the activities carried out by FIK UI lecturers and students, because in Naga Village there is no Integrated Family Planning – Health Service Station (Posyandu), so health information will certainly be beneficial for residents. It is hoped that the collaboration with UI can continue,” said Ade Suherli, a resident of Kampung Naga. (*/est)