Wednesday (03/08/2022) – The University of Indonesia Community Service Team from the Faculty of Pharmacy and the Faculty of Medicine collaborated again to hold a counseling activity at SMPN 1 Cluring, Banyuwangi. In a previous meeting, the Community Service Team and Sri Wahju Prihatin, S.Pd., M.Pd., the Principal of SMPN 1 Cluring, agreed to provide counseling materials that are much needed by the current students of SMPN 1 Cluring.
Students of SMPN 1 Cluring register before entering the counseling room (Source: Documentation of the FFUI and FKUI Community Service Team)
Furthermore, Sri stated that online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the morale of students in the Banyuwangi area. With the free access to information online, including adult content, coupled with ample free time during online learning, many junior high school students require guidance in understanding adult information through counseling on adolescent reproductive health. Furthermore, with the resumption of in-person learning, the School Health Unit will be reactivated, including the Youth Red Cross (PMR), which requires training to improve their skills and knowledge.
Presentation of material by Dr. apt. Anton Bahtiar, M.Biomed (Source: Documentation of the FFUI and FKUI Community Service Team)
The presentation of material on Adolescent Reproductive Health was delivered by Dr. apt. Anton Bahtiar, M.Biomed as the Head of Community Service and Lecturer at the Faculty of Pharmacy, UI. "Health issues that need to be understood by the community include reproductive health, nutrition, personal hygiene and sanitation, violence and NAPZA (Narcotics, Psychotropics and Additives) injuries, STIs, HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases, and non-infectious diseases and mental health," said Dr. Anton. On this occasion, Dr. Anton emphasized the close relationship of friendship between male and female students to avoid unwanted things, including by explaining the consequences, namely unwanted pregnancies, abortions, sexually transmitted infections and HIV-AIDS.
Presentation of material by apt. Linda Erlina, M.Farm (Source: Documentation of the FFUI and FKUI Community Service Team)
The event session continued with the presentation of UKS Ambassador Counseling material by apt. Linda Erlina, M.Farm. In this material apt. Linda, who is a Lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine UI emphasized the importance of Lifting and Moving actions in certain situations or during disasters that require transportation mechanisms in the form of lifting and moving victims. "The general principle of lifting and moving victims so that it is easy to do and does not injure the rescuer is the correct body position and lifting and moving techniques. Lifting and moving techniques are divided into two groups based on the situation faced, namely emergency and non-emergency transfers," added apt. Linda.
Presentation and training on borax content testing in school canteen snacks using Ruellia flowers by Dr. Ade Arsianti, S.Si., M.Si. (Source: Documentation of the FFUI and FKUI Community Service Team)
The next activity that is no less important for school children is the presentation and training of borax content testing in food or snacks. "Ruellia flowers grow abundantly in the yard of SMPN 1 Cluring, so it became an idea for our team to provide knowledge on how to detect borax in food/snacks in a simple and easy-to-apply method by SMPN 1 Cluring students," said Dr. Ade Arsianti, S.Si., M.Si, Lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine, UI. On that occasion, several snacks around the school were examined, and those found to be positive for containing borax were "bleng" and "gendar crackers". From these results, it is hoped that students can test their own snacks, so that they can always maintain their health.
Checking the Borax content in snacks at SMPN 1 Cluring with Ruellia Flowers (Source: Documentation of the FFUI and FKUI Community Service Team)
Dr. Ade explained that borax, if consumed, can cause physical and health problems, such as stomach ache, dizziness, nausea, cough, sore throat, diarrhea and poisoning, and over a long period of time it accumulates in the body and can cause cancer, growth and development disorders in children, resulting in damage to brain function which can inhibit children's cognitive aspects which will affect the academic grades of school-age children.
Health check consisting of blood pressure, blood sugar, total cholesterol, and uric acid levels (Source: Documentation of the FFUI and FKUI Community Service Team)
Finally, the UI Community Service team conducted health checks on the students, including blood pressure, blood sugar, total cholesterol, and uric acid levels. The results of the examination at SMPN 1 Cluring, with participants aged 13-15 years, showed that 24% of participants had blood pressure >120/80 mmHg; 26.7% had cholesterol levels >200 mg/dL; 22.7% had uric acid levels >6-7 mg/dL; but all participants still had normal blood sugar levels.
These results show that the risk of cardiovascular disease in the Banyuwangi region has begun since adolescence, with approximately 20-25% of junior high school students experiencing increased blood pressure, cholesterol, and uric acid levels. "This is likely due to lifestyle and diet patterns that are high in fat, high in glucose, and high in purines. Therefore, repeated education on the prevention of degenerative diseases is essential in schools, especially junior high schools in the Banyuwangi region," said Dr. Anton.
