Adolescents represent a crucial age group in Indonesia’s population.
According to data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS), in 2022, 16.04% of Indonesia’s total population consisted of adolescents aged 10-19.
This phase of adolescence, filled with both physical and psychological challenges such as reproductive development and identity formation, makes them vulnerable to risky behaviors such as smoking, premarital sex, and drug abuse.
Therefore, health education and environmental support, especially within schools, are essential to help them navigate these challenges.
To improve the physical, mental, and reproductive health of adolescents in schools, a community service team from the UGM Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing (FK-KMK UGM), led by Dr. Wenny Artanty Nisman launched a program titled “Empowering School Communities to Improve Adolescents’ Physical, Psychological, and Reproductive Health by Optimizing the Role of School Health Units (UKS) in Girimulyo District, Kulon Progo.”
This program aims to reactivate the role of UKS, which has not been functioning optimally in junior high schools (SMP) and Islamic junior high schools (MTs) in Girimulyo.
Dr. Nisman explained that preliminary studies revealed that UKS in many schools in Girimulyo District had not been operating effectively. The UKS rooms were rarely used, and school health activities were poorly organized.
As a result, this community service program was initiated to address these issues.
“One of the key points of this program is to reactivate the function of UKS as a health promotion center in schools,” Dr. Nisman stated on Friday (Oct. 18).
The service program, which supports the national campaign “Healthy Schools, Healthy Indonesia,” involves six schools in Girimulyo District: SMPN 1 Girimulyo, SMPN 2 Girimulyo, SMPN 3 Girimulyo, SMPN 4 Girimulyo, SMP Sanjaya, and MTSN 4 Kulon Progo.
The FK-KMK UGM community service team held two training sessions on adolescent health.
“This program also received full support from the participating schools, as well as from Girimulyo Health Centers 1 and 2, which assisted with health activities at the schools,” she added.
The community service team also emphasized the importance of reproductive health education for adolescents.
Adolescence is known as a phase that is most vulnerable to risky behavior, and adequate knowledge of reproductive health can help them make better and safer decisions.
With the implementation of this program, Dr. Nisman hopes to optimize UKS’s role in schools in Girimulyo District so that UKS facilities are more organized and frequently used.
Furthermore, teachers and students are expected to play a more active role in maintaining adolescents’ physical, mental, and reproductive health through UKS activities.
“We hope this program can improve adolescents’ understanding of the importance of maintaining reproductive health and help them avoid risky behaviors,” she said.
Author: Gusti Grehenson
Post-editor: Afif