Given that the number of smokers in Indonesia is increasing day by day, the academics continue to try to suppress this number. Various efforts continue to be created, to make innovations as an anti-smoking promotion for the community.
One of them came from the Faculty of Nursing, University of Indonesia (UI). Through the Science and Technology Program for the Community, the Directorate of Research and Community Service (DRPM UI), is developing an innovative anti-smoking health promotion media in the form of a video game. The main target is young or novice smokers. The video game, which is named “Sign of Heroes”, is an android-based application, which contains information or facts about cigarettes.
“Video games are certainly considered very relevant as a contemporary educational medium. Given the number of teenagers who play video games is increasing. Indonesia is recorded with the largest number of gamers in Asia. Video games as educational media have been widely developed abroad and have shown positive results,” said the head of the team for developing this innovation, Dr. Sigit Mulyono, S.Kp., M.N., at UPTD SMPN 2 Depok, in the context of testing the game, Wednesday (6/11/2019).
Sigit said, millennial teenagers are a generation that grows and develops with technology. Thus, it is difficult to separate from gadgets. Therefore, the development of this game aims to fill the playing time of teenagers who are usually confiscated for commercial games, towards anti-smoking educational games.
“So playing while they gain knowledge, it means playing while learning. We see this as an opportunity to increase knowledge and change adolescents’ perceptions of smoking. We know in general, cigarette advertisements in the media instill image messages or symbols, smoking is cool, adventurous, characteristic of adult men, and idolized by women. Even though we know that this is not true,” he said.
So, explained Sigit, the game in question was created as a counter-promotion to provide correct knowledge and perception, with a non-threatening approach and relevant to millennial youth. “This game is like an antidote. As a shield, if the advertisements currently circulating are not true. Teenagers are presented with the right knowledge, if cigarettes are very damaging and dangerous,” he said.
Sigit said the trial had been conducted three times. As a result, the responses from students at UPTD SMPN 2 Depok were very enthusiastic to be involved. So that supporting games can continue to be developed and applied in the community.
“The response has been very positive. The students welcomed it. They enthusiastically provide input on the improvement of this game. We can see from the very many and positive messages,” he concluded.
It is known, the prevalence of smokers in Indonesia always increases from year to year. Data from the Southest Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) states that Indonesia is in the highest position in Southeast Asia with the number of smokers reaching 65.19 million people. In addition, the prevalence of young smokers is also increasing. Data from the Indonesian Health Demographic Survey (IDHS) shows an increase in the number of adolescent smokers from 53 percent in 2012, to 55 percent in 2017.
This is a concern considering that teenagers are the next generation of the nation’s leadership relay in the future. This issue is a scourge, because in addition to the increasing number of teenage smokers, there is also a trend of shifting the age of smoking at an earlier stage, from junior high school age to elementary school age.
The above phenomenon is directly proportional to the increase in the prevalence of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) or known as non-communicable diseases. According to Riskesdas data in 2018, the dominance of non-communicable diseases reached 69 percent of non-communicable diseases. This is very worrying considering the increasing burden of the State in financing treatment due to this disease, where smoking is one of the main risk factors.
https://republika.co.id/berita/q0qcjb409/ui-laukan-gim-edukasi-perangi-rokok
