Cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of fatalities in the world. The high rate is aggravated by people’s lifestyle which is increasingly unhealthy.
This prompted five students of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) to participate in controlling the risk factors of cardiovascular diseases. They conducted a family empowerment campaign in Ngangkrik village, Triharjo district, Sleman regency.
Programme chairperson, Erinda Nurrahma, said in a release received on Monday (19/8) that prevention had long been encouraged by the government by setting up controlling posts in villages but this did not sustain due to the lack of capacity of the human resource. Besides, residents did not live a healthy lifestyle that led to high the cardiovascular risks.
Erinda along with fellow students Ailsa Nur Rahma Apta Widyadhana, Annisa Leny Saraswati, Ave Anugraheni, and Muhammad Jourdan Prasetyatama under the guidance of Dr. dr. Emy Huriyati, M. Kes., started the empowerment programme. It consists of training for man to avoid smoking, women to handle domestic health, and the youth to prevent cardiovascular diseases.
The students trained the male participants on the hazardous effects of smokes, how to stop smoking, and how to not smoke in public areas. The women were trained on balanced nutrition, healthy and unhealthy food, healthy cooking, physical activities, and family smoking habit. The youth was trained on the types, symptoms, risks and prevention as well as treatment of heart attack and stroke. They were also trained on healthy lifestyle and how to do basic health checks of the local residents.
“The health check results are recorded in a card which is later submitted to the paramedics in the village for follow-up,” added Ave.
Ave said the empowerment programme that ran from April – July 2019 had successfully produced cadres who would continue the program in the future. Commitment also emerged among the residents not to smoke indoors while mothers started to serve low sugar, fat, and salt in the food.
“We hope this programme to be sustainable in creating a community that is aware of cardiovascular diseases. We also hope the village of Ngangkrik can be a role model for other villages,” she said.