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13 Oct 2021
STRONGER: Strengthening and Optimising the Role of Family Posyandu and Cadres to Improve Health in COVID-19 Situation using Family-Based Approach
Project leader: Ms. Nabilla Sophiarany
Level of education and university: Master, Public Health, The University of Melbourne
Collaborating Organisations: Puskesmas Penimbung
Project Location: Lombok Barat, Nusa Tenggara Barat
Activity Type: Capacity building, mentoring or coaching
Sector: Communicable Disease Prevention, Health Services, Public Health, Maternal and Child Health
Project Rationale:
Posyandu have been long recognised as playing a leading role in empowering local communities in Indonesia to access health care services, especially maternal and child health services. Understanding the essential function of posyandu, in 2019, the provincial government of Nusa Tenggara Barat committed to revitalising the conventional posyandu into family posyandu. The family posyandu can address the needs of the local community to monitor their health regularly without going to the primary health care or other health facilities which may increase their risk of contracting COVID-19. The family posyandu utilises a family-based approach to address the health problems in the community effectively. The service provided is not only limited to mother and child, but also targets the adolescents and elderly. Topics such as sexual health, substance abuse, and early marriage for adolescents, as well as regular check-ups for communicable diseases (diabetes, hypertension, etc.) will also be covered for all family members. In addition, during the COVID-19 pandemic, family posyandu act as the focal point in the community to spread awareness regarding adherence to COVID-19 protocols and to support vaccination programs.
While revitalising conventional posyandu into family posyandu is an important step to provide holistic health care to families, cadres with the skills to deliver family-based care are still rare. Cadres play a crucial role in encouraging the community to visit the family posyandu and helping primary health care services to provide health services and counselling. As of May 2021, 53% of the conventional posyandu in NTB had been revitalised into family posyandu (NTB Provincial Health Office, 2021). Each family posyandu has cadres that have been trained for maternal and child health. Meanwhile, the proportion of cadres in family posyandu that have received training (besides maternal and child health) is still very few. For example, in Puskesmas Penimbung working area, from 128 cadres in 8 family posyandu, no cadres have been trained to receive comprehensive knowledge and skill to deliver the family posyandu service.
In addition, the lack of infrastructure (i.e. blood pressure devices, blood sugar devices, weight scales, and height measurement tools) is one of the greatest factors that inhibits the performance of family posyandu. The lack of infrastructure also makes the community unwilling to visit posyandu as they might feel no benefit after visiting. Therefore, this project will help strengthen the family posyandu and their cadres in selected puskesmas by providing training and supervision for various health problems, such as adolescent health, communicable diseases, maternal and child health, as well as on COVID-19.
Project Beneficiaries:
40 cadres in 8 family posyandu
Priority Development Area:
Health Security
Link with Australian organisation: -
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