DOPE: Drugs Prevention and Awareness
The danger of substance abuse is one of the main problems in a developing country, Indonesia. According to a survey conducted by the Badan Narkotika Nasional (BNN) in 2021, the prevalence rate of drug users in Indonesia reaches 1.95% in the population aged 15-64 years. The prevalence of adolescents as subjects who commit substance abuse in Indonesia illustrates that adolescents need knowledge and awareness in understanding the dangers of substance abuse and avoiding it. .
Based on this, SCOPH CIMSA USU took the initiative to hold a “DOPE” event which aims to provide education and information regarding the dangers of drug abuse. DOPE (Drugs Prevention and Awareness) was held for 6 days with various series of interventions. There are four series of interventions consisting of the release of educational videos, air campaigns in the form of podcasts, offline counseling at the SMA Al Amjad Medan, and challenges regarding preventive drug actions on Instagram.
The first intervention began by releasing an educational video on CIMSA USU Instagram account about the dangers of drugs and how to prevent them. Then, for the second intervention, we released a podcast with drug survivor Denny Sugara Siagian, S.Pd.I from Medan Plus Rehabilitation. In the podcast, Denny Sugara Siagian, S.Pd.I shared his experience of using drugs and his way of quitting drugs and starting a new life.
The third intervention, namely the main event in the form of offline counseling, was held at the SMA Al Amjad Medan on Friday, September 2, 2022. This event was attended by 10th, 11th, and 12th grade students. The main event presented Cindy Lydia Ivana, SKM from the Badan Narkotika Nasional (BNN) of North Sumatra and Sardo Parulian Sitanggang from Medan Plus Rehabilitation as speakers. Cindy Lydia Ivana, SKM shared her knowledge regarding all things related to drugs. Sardo Parulian Sitanggang shared his experience of using drugs and his way of quitting drugs and starting a new life.
For the last intervention, SCOPH CIMSA USU held a challenge on Instagram. The topic of the challenge is how to prevent your own version of drugs. This challenge lasted for 3 days and received positive feedback from participants who took part.
By holding this series of events, we hope to increase the knowledge and awareness of the participants about the dangers of drug abuse. We also hope that the prevalence of drug abuse in Indonesia will decrease.
SCOPH
Standing Committee on Public Health
CIMSA
Empowering Medical Students
Improving Nation's Health
