Reproductive health and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among adolescents are important issues that need to be addressed seriously. The limited knowledge of most Indonesian adolescents about these two things contributes to the high number of STIs and unwanted pregnancies. This fact inspired a lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine (FK) of Universitas Indonesia (UI), Dr. dr. Hanny Nilasari, Sp.D.V.E., Subsp.Ven., to take on the issue.
She developed and researched the effectiveness of a module called “Generasi Bebas Infeksi Menular Sexual (GBIMS),” the first in Indonesia, comprehensive, and easily accessible. This module was developed with the aim of increasing knowledge, attitude change, and behavior of adolescents related to reproductive health and STIs.
The creation of the GBIMS Module was carried out in three stages based on qualitative and quantitative research. Firstly, a preliminary study was conducted to find the needs and assess the basic knowledge of adolescents, as well as to accommodate the aspirations of teachers and parents of Senior High School or equivalent students. This study was designed together with clinical psychologists and dermatologists, venereologists, and aesthetics who study reproductive health and STIs. The results of the study were then used to compile a module consisting of eight chapters.
In the second stage, researchers created an interesting and informative animated video module in an online or e-learning format. Furthermore, the third stage was a module trial with a double-blind randomized study, which compared the increase in knowledge, changes in attitudes, and behavior between the trial group and the control group.
The research conducted by dr. Hanny involved more than 600 students from private and public high schools/vocational schools/Islamic high schools, namely 327 students in the initial research stage and 358 students from 21 schools covering 6 areas of DKI Jakarta in the module implementation stage. The results of the study showed that students who participated in the GBIMS Module experienced significant improvements in terms of knowledge, attitudes, and behavior related to reproductive health and STIs.
In contrast, the control group did not show significant increases in knowledge, although there were slight changes in attitudes and behaviors. Overall, the scores of students in the GBIMS Module were better than those of students who did not receive the module. From the assessment of STI risk factor screening integrated into the module, it can be seen that the majority of students, namely 73.5% of students were “not at risk”, 22.9% of students were “at risk”, and 3.6% of students were “very at risk” of contracting STIs.
“With this module, it is hoped that Indonesian adolescents can better understand the importance of reproductive health and how to prevent STIs, so that it can reduce the incidence of STIs and unwanted pregnancies among them,” said Dr. dr. Hanny at the Doctoral Promotion hearing held by the Doctoral Study Program of Medical Sciences, FKUI, on Tuesday, July 16 at the 3rd floor Auditorium of the IMERI Building, FKUI, Salemba, Jakarta.
She also hopes that the GBIMS module can be an important educational tool to address reproductive health issues that can be accessed independently among adolescents. In addition to providing comprehensive information, this module is also designed to be easily accessible and understood, so that adolescents can take appropriate preventive measures.
Dr. dr. Hanny received her Doctorate after successfully defending her dissertation, titled “Pengaruh Modul Generasi Bebas Infeksi Menular Seksual (GBIMS) dalam Meningkatkan Pengetahuan, Perubahan Sikap, dan Perilaku terhadap Kesehatan Reproduksi pada Remaja Indonesia.” The team of examiners was chaired by Prof. Dr. dr. Suhendro, Sp.PD, Subsp.P.T.I. with Prof. Dr. dr. Sarwono Waspadji, Sp.PD, Subsp.E.M.D; Dr. dr. I Putu Gede Kayika, Sp.OG, Subsp.Obginsos., MPH; and Prof. Dr. Kemal N. Siregar, S.K.M., M.A., PhD as members; as well as a guest examiner from Udayana University, Dr. dr. A.A.G.P. Wiraguna Sp.D.V.E., Subsp.Ven.
The promotion session was chaired by the Dean of FKUI, Prof. Dr. dr. Ari Fahrial Syam, Sp.PD-KGEH, MMB, with Dr. dr. Wresti Indriatmi, Sp.D.V.E., Subsp.Ven, M.Epid as promoter, and Prof. Dr. dr. Hartono Gunardi, Sp.A, Subsp.T.K.P.S. and Dr. dr. Aria Kekalih, M.T.I. as co-promoters.
Prof. Ari said, “Hopefully, the module created by dr. Hanny can be useful and can be applied, especially for those of us in DKI Jakarta, it can be input for the DKI Education Office so that it can be applied to our adolescents. Of course, we hope that in accordance with the topic itself, the purpose of this module is for adolescents to be free from sexually transmitted infections, because we know that if they already have problems (STIs), of course, it will be prolonged.”
