The Community Service Team consisting of Community Nursing Lecturers and Students, Faculty of Nursing, University of Indonesia (FoN UI) held a program entitled “Surveillance, Prevention of Disease Transmission, and Stop TB Stigma”. The Community Service series was held in the Curug Beji sub-district, Depok from June to November 2019.
This activity involves the components of the Health Center Health Officer, the Village Apparatus, the Head of the RW, as well as health cadres, and the local community. The series of programs are the formation and refreshment of TB cadres, guidance on TB patient assistance modules, TB disease education to several RWs in the Beji Village area, and also visits to TB patients’ homes to monitor and evaluate techniques for providing support for Drug Swallowing Monitors (PMO).
In addition, FoN UI lecturers and students provide counseling and training to prevent TB transmission in homes, as well as establish a referral channel between Beji Health Center and Hospital UI for the management of TB patients. Not to forget, the team also carried out screening activities for suspected TB in the community to check potential new TB cases in their respective RW areas.
Head of Community Service FoN UI, Astuti Yuni Nursasi, explained the background of why this program was formed. This is in view of the declining health condition of TB clients along with the possibility of chronic disease and the risk of transmission which will become a continuous chain of increasing TB incidence in the community.
“Various health problems experienced by families with TB clients are disease transmission, lack of information about home care procedures, lack of control over taking medication to completion and lack of support, which has led to stigma against themselves and the community,” said Astuti.
Therefore, he said, this community service emphasizes how important it is to train the skills of family members who care for TB clients at home so that they know, are willing and able to prevent disease transmission and help with appropriate treatment, as well as eliminate the stigma that appears in the community about misinformation about TB. .
It is hoped, said Astuti, that this program will prove to be able to improve behavior and complete treatment support. There is also community empowerment and advocacy to policy makers in handling TB health problems as part of improving community health status.
“As a Community Nursing actor who is an integral part of health services, this program is a real action and contribution from the FIK UI academic community who moves through promotive and preventive efforts. A healthy and independent society is a reflection of a developed country,” he said.
