Depok, August 31st, 2023. Blood disorders are one of the factors causing a person’s low quality of life. The results of Basic Health Research (RISKESDAS) of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia showed that in 2018, the proportion of anemia in pregnant women was 48.9%. Pregnant women aged 15-24 years had the highest percentage of 84.6%, followed by aged 25-34 years (33.7%), aged 35-44 years (33.6%), and aged 45-54 years (24 \%). In young women, the most common blood disorder is anemia. It is prone to be experienced by young women as the release of iron through menstruation results in rapid loss of iron depending on the amount of blood that comes out.
Anemia is one of the factors causing stunting. For example, anemia that occurs in pregnant women is related to the incidence of stunting, where the higher the hemoglobin level of the pregnant woman, the longer the baby will be born. In this case, if a pregnant woman’s hemoglobin level is low, the baby will be shorter in size and this condition will cause stunting.
The stunting rate in several regions in Indonesia is still quite high. This condition is often found in areas with high levels of poverty and low levels of education.
In order to increase public knowledge and awareness of blood disorders and stunting, the Faculty of Medicine (FK) Universitas Indonesia (UI) through the Biomedical Sciences Doctoral Program (PDIB) held community service activities (pengmas) on August 10th 2023 at SMKN 2 Lingsar, West Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara. Service activities were carried out in the form of counseling and health checks which were attended by 100 participants consisting of pregnant women and students of SMKN 2 Lingsar.
Head of the Study Program and Coordinator of PDIB FKUI Community Service Activities, Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Asmarinah, M.S. said, “Apart from counseling activities, blood pressure measurements, blood type and hemoglobin checks, discussions, and doctor consultation services were also carried out by a team of PDIB FKUI lecturers and students.” The opening of the community service activity was also attended by West Lombok Regent Expert Staff HL Najamuddin, S.T., M.M; Head of West Lombok Health Service Apt. Arief Kurniawan, S.Si., MPH; and Principal of SMKN 2 Lingsar Drs. Mariadi, M.M.
West Lombok was chosen as the location for PDIB FKUI community service to eradicate blood disorders and stunting based on Electronic Data – Community Based Nutrition Recording and Reporting (e-PPGBM) in 2022 where West Lombok Regency was included in the three districts with the highest prevalence of stunting (18.98% ) in NTB Province. With support from the local government, it made it easier for the PDIB FKUI community service team to carry out this activity.
“It is hoped that this community service program can educate the public regarding blood, anemia, thalassemia, blood transfusions and stunting, especially for pregnant women and young women. We are very happy that this program received enthusiasm from the local residents who attended,” said Prof. Asmarinah.
The outreach activity in the community service presented two speakers. The first speaker was a PDIB FKUI student, dr. Andi Khomeini Takdir, Sp.PD-Kpsi., who delivered presentation related to blood, blood disorders and stunting. To the counseling participants, dr. Andi explained that knowledge about blood and accompanying diseases is very important to improve the quality of life.
“If the nutritional status of a pregnant woman is good, nutritional adequacy is met, then her hemoglobin (Hb) will be more optimal. Hb is an illustration of the adequacy of red blood cells which are responsible for delivering nutrition to the fetus which is experiencing growth and development. It is hoped that with improved nutrition, the mother’s Hb will increase and if the mother is not anemic, the possibility of stunting will be lower, and that children can grow more optimally,” said dr. Andi.
Meanwhile, the second speaker was a PDIB FKUI lecturer, Prof. Dr. dr. Erni Hernawati Purwaningsih, MS, who provided counseling about the health benefits of Moringa leaves and butterfly pea flowers. These two plants are very common among the people of West Lombok and are part of their daily consumption.
One of the activity participants, Hanifah Putri, a student at SMKN 2 Lingsar, admitted that she was very happy and enthusiastic about taking part in the health education and examination activities, “With this activity we can gain useful knowledge regarding blood types, there are blood checks and explanations related to health for Pregnant Mother,” she said.
Through this series of outreach activities, it is hoped that the community, especially young women and pregnant women, can be more aware and proactive in maintaining health and consuming nutritious foods. This is done so that the FKUI community service targets, namely pregnant women and vocational school students, can avoid the risk of anemia, which is also one of the causes of stunting.
