UI inaugurated Prof. dr. Indah Suci Widyahening, Sp. KKLP.as a professor in Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, in IMERI Building Hall, UI Salemba Campus. At the inauguration ceremony led by UI Chancellor Prof. Ari Kuncoro, S.E., M.A., Ph.D., Prof. Indah delivered her inaugural speech “The Role of Primary Care Family Medicine Specialists in Bridging the Gap in Control of Non-Communicable Diseases in Indonesia”.
In her speech, she emphasized the urgency of managing Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), a global health challenge in the 21st century. According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2018, deaths due to PTM were recorded at 71% of deaths in the world, including 75% of premature deaths (deaths aged 30-69 years). Therefore, one of the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the health sector is to reduce the relative risk of premature death caused by NCDs by one-third by 2030.
In Indonesia, six of the ten biggest causes of death are NCDs, with the top three being ischemic heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Meanwhile, the biggest risk factors for death are increased blood pressure, unhealthy eating patterns, high fasting blood glucose levels and tobacco consumption. WHO has predicted that the target of reducing the relative risk of death under the age of 70 years due to NCDs by one-third will not be achieved by Indonesia in 2030. However, it is still possible to achieve this target after 2040 if improvements are made.
Prof. Indah said, controlling NCDs in Indonesia is carried out through various programs, which include health promotion efforts through the Healthy Living Community Movement, controlling risk factors through community participation at the Integrated Development Post for Non-Communicable Diseases (Posbindu PTM), health services through the Management Program Chronic Diseases (Prolanis) for BPJS participants in primary services, as well as various curative and rehabilitative efforts in secondary and tertiary services. However, all the efforts have not been successful in controlling NCDs, as evidenced by the increasing number of people suffering from NCDs and catastrophic diseases and the economic and social burdens that arise as a result.
“To accelerate the target of controlling NCDs in Indonesia is, first, to increase the number of Primary Care Family Medicine Specialists as doctors who have the competence to control NCDs effectively,” said Prof. Indah. Currently, there are approximately 600 Primary Care Family Medicine Specialist (SpKKLP) doctors spread throughout Indonesia, most of whom are still concentrated in educational centers. Meanwhile, there are more than 10,000 community health centers spread across more than 7,200 sub-districts throughout Indonesia.
To fill the gap in dealing with PTM, Prof. Indah said that at least one SpKKLP person is needed at the health centers to carry out prevention efforts at every stage of the PTM journey in primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention. “Every family in Indonesia must have a Primary Care Family Doctor to accompany them in maintaining health and preventing NCDs,” said Prof. Indah.
The second recommendation is to target control in adolescents and young adults through health promotion efforts and setting-based risk factor control. NCD risk factor management programs that are held based on settings where groups of teenagers and young adults are found, such as schools, campuses, or workplaces, need to be supported. Likewise, a model of primary health care for groups of teenagers and young adults that emphasizes peer-engagement needs to be developed.
Furthermore, the third is to encourage operational research to obtain a model for controlling NCD risk factors and effective prevention in primary care. The intervention model can be applied to various components in the primary service domain, starting from organizing services, health information systems, human resource management, essential medicines, vaccines and appropriate technology, quality assurance, health promotion, prevention and management of specific diseases, and interaction with other sectors.
“Thus, the global target of reducing the relative risk of premature death caused by NCDs by one-third in Indonesia can be achieved in a timely manner. So, Golden Indonesia in 2045 will be achieved according to our expectancies,” said Prof. Beautiful.
Prof. Indah has published her writing in various national and international journals. Some of these scientific publications are Diagnostic Performance of Urine-based HPV-DNA Test (CerviScan, Bio Farma) as Cervical Cancer Screening Tool in Adult Women (2023); Knowledge, attitude, and practice related to the COVID-19 pandemic among undergraduate medical students in Indonesia: A nationwide cross-sectional study (2022); and Non-communicable diseases risk factors and the risk of COVID-19 among university employees in Indonesia (2022).
