Penguatan Gaya Hidup Normal Baru pada Masyarakat di Wilayah Padat Penduduk
Authors: Sari Ni Putu Wulan Purnama 
Published: July 2022

Pandemi COVID-19 telah berlangsung selama beberapa tahun, dan tidak ada seorangpun yang bisa memprediksi kapan pandemi ini akan berakhir. Transisi menuju status endemi sedang dipersiapkan oleh pemerintah Indonesia. Berbagai upaya pencegahan penularan COVID-19 secara konsisten terus dikembangkan oleh pemerintah. Masyarakat juga secara konsisten diminta untuk menerapkan protokol kesehatan sesuai rekomendasi WHO terlepas dari naik turunnya angka kejadian COVID-19. Kegiatan pengabdian masyarakat ini bertujuan meningkatkan kemampuan masyarakat untuk menerapkan gaya hidup normal baru sekaligus mencegah transmisi COVID-19 di wilayah padat penduduk. Kegiatan ini dilaksanakan pada bulan Oktober 2021. Metode kegiatan berupa pendidikan kesehatan tentang COVID-19 untuk masyarakat awam dengan penekanan pada pencegahan penularannya melalui penerapan protokol kesehatan, dan pembagian alat dan bahan yang dapat digunakan untuk mendukung penerapan gaya hidup normal baru, misalnya: sabun antiseptik, alcohol hand rub atau hand sanitizer, dan masker bedah. Peserta kegiatan berjumlah 50 orang. Setelah diberi pendidikan kesehatan, terdapat peningkatan pengetahuan peserta sebesar 18,7%. Mayoritas peserta memiliki tingkat pengetahuan yang sangat baik sebelum (54%) dan setelah kegiatan (70%). Selain itu, mayoritas peserta juga memiliki kemampuan perawatan diri yang tinggi di masa pandemi (74%). Satu bulan setelah kegiatan, perangkat pemerintahan setempat melaporkan adanya peningkatan kesadaran diri warganya untuk menerapkan protokol kesehatan. Perilaku kesehatan normal baru yang diterapkan secara konsisten oleh masyarakat berpotensi menekan penularan COVID-19 secara efektif. The COVID-19 pandemic has been going on for several years, and no one can predict when this pandemic will end. The Indonesian government is preparing for the transition to endemic status. The government is consistently developing various efforts to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. The public is also consistently asked to apply health protocols according to WHO recommendations regardless of the ups and downs in the number of cases of COVID-19. This community service activity aimed to increase the community's ability to implement a new normal lifestyle while preventing the transmission of COVID-19 in densely populated areas. This activity was held in October 2021. The method of activity is in the form of health education about COVID-19 for the general public with an emphasis on preventing transmission through the application of health protocols and the distribution of tools and materials that can be used to support the implementation of the new normal lifestyle, for example, antiseptic soap, alcohol hand rub or hand sanitiser, and surgical masks. There are 50 participants in this activity. After being given health education, there was an increase in participants' knowledge by 18.7%. The majority of participants had a very good level of knowledge before (54%) and after the health education activity (70%). In addition, the majority of participants also had high self-care skills during the pandemic (74%). One month after the activity, local government officials reported increasing the public's self-awareness to implement health protocols related to a new normal lifestyle. The new normal health behaviour that is consistently applied by the community has the potential to suppress the transmission of COVID-19 effectively.