Provide Counseling and Health Checks for the Elderly carried out by the Village in Providing Quality of Life and Health Services for the Elderly

For some of us, we may still be a bit layman or even never know about the Elderly Posyandu. Most of what we see is Posyandu for children. Starting from 2021 in North Aceh, the Elderly Posyandu or integrated Posyandu has been developed whose implementation is integrated with the general Posyandu in the village.

Then what is called the Elderly. We call elderly when someone has reached the age of 60 years or more for both men and women. There are four groups of Elderly groups that have been recognized by WHO, namely those aged 45-60 years called Middle Age, age 60-75 years in the Elderly category, age 75-90 called Old Elderly and age 90 and above called Very Old or Very Old Elderly.

Health Checkup and Counseling for the Elderly

In Indonesia, the number of elderly people who experience chronic diseases is a large percentage. Elderly aged 60-69 years have many health problems with chronic diseases such as gout, hypertension, cholesterol and diabetes

With this fact, the Aceh Government is also promoting the Elderly Courtesy Program. Santu Lansia itself is a Health care implementation program for the elderly which is coordinated in the sub-district. It was this polite Lasia who worried and helped the elderly Posyandu in the village.

In society, we see that the most influential of the elderly is the pattern and daily lifestyle. The habits of our elderly are less in doing movement and physical activity and consuming a lot of food that is not good for health such as eating fried food which can cause health problems

Then how many times has the Elderly Posyandu been held? Facts in the field we see that the implementation of the Elderly Posyandu is not carried out every month, this is different from the General Posyandu which is held every two weeks in the village. Posyandu for the elderly is mostly held every three months, although there are also villages that carry out once a month depending on the availability of funds

What to do at the Elderly Posyandu. The main thing to do is check and Health Check. Every elderly who comes will have their blood pressure checked, then check their blood sugar or uric acid levels according to existing tools and provided by the village

Those who carry out the Elderly Posyandu in the Village are the Village Posyandu Cadre (Poswindu) themselves who are assisted by the Village Midwife and also from the Community Health Center Nurse in the local sub-district.

Health Menu for the Elderly provided through Village funds

After a Health Check is carried out, then Health Counseling or talking about the illness is carried out. The purpose of this counseling is to provide understanding and solutions to any health problems that are being faced. Because there are cases that are obtained, it is not only physical pain that is suffered but also psychological pain which results in health problems as well

Therefore, support and financial support from the village sourced from village funds are needed to support Posyandu activities for the elderly. The funds are used to purchase medical equipment needed by the elderly. Although it is not so optimal, cooperation with the Puskesmas is highly expected. Family support is also needed so that the elderly can improve their quality of life

That is one of our duties and activities in the village as a village assistant in assisting posyandu cadres in the village. With the collaboration with the Puskesmas, especially the Village Midwife, so that the Posyandu activities for the Elderly are expected to be useful for the Elderly in the Village.