BANDUNG, unpas.ac.id – Stunting or failure to thrive in children under five due to chronic malnutrition still haunts Indonesia because of the large number of sufferers. Stunting causes the child’s height to be too short for his age, it can even be followed by a child’s intelligence disorder.
This condition is caused by several factors, including pregnancy infection, malnutrition in pregnant women, suboptimal infant nutrition from birth to the first three years, or poor stimulation from the environment.
To prevent this problem, Department of Social Welfare Studies FISIP Universitas Pasundan carried out community service in Desa Sanca, Ciater Sub-District, Subang District on Tuesday, 5 July 2022.
Based on the survey results, Desa Sanca has 8 Integrated Service Post (Pos Pelayanan Terpadu, Posyandu) in each RW which in 2021 was categorized as an independent Posyandu. However, the schedule for opening the Posyandu is not in accordance with the wishes of the community because it is determined by the Puskesmas (Community Health Center) or village offices.
Role of Posyandu’s Members is still Not Optimal Yet
Head of PKM Team and Vice Dean III of Unpas FISIP H. R. Sumardhani, M.Si said that the number of active member in each Posyandu was only 5 people. There are still Posyandu(s) which find it hard to find members to carry out anthropometry measurement.
“Posyandu members are responsible to provide health service for mother and children, such as weighing, measuring children’s height and head circumference, detecting child development, as well as monitoring immunization status and parental actions regarding child care patterns,” he said.
Members also play a role in providing consulting services, counselling, group discussions, or demonstrations with parents of toddlers. Posyandu members are expected to be able to educate and motivate parents of toddlers to continue implementing good parenting styles for their children.
“With these important positions, Posyandu members have a big role in preventing and educating stunting. Their abilities and skills must be developed so that they can play an active role in improving public health,” he explained.
According to the actual condition at the location, as he said, training of nutrition health in Posyandu Desa Sanca still have few obstacles, both from parents’ and Posyandu members’ limited understanding regarding the issues.
“In terms of quality and quantity, the ability to convey information and nutrition health counselling materials from Posyandu members still lacks of training, knowledge and levels of education,” he explained.
Sumardhani added that this activity uses a Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) approach which allows the community to jointly analyse their health problems in order to formulate real plans and policies.
“We want to make Sanca Village stunting free. With the questions-and-answers method and interactive discussion, we hope that the public’s knowledge and understanding of stunting can improve,” he said. (Reta)**
