Community Education on Non-Communicable Disease Prevention Through Healthy Lifestyle Promotion in Ciputat District, South Tangerang

Abstract

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) remain a major public health challenge in Indonesia due to unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, including poor dietary habits, physical inactivity, smoking, and inadequate health awareness. Community-based health education is considered an effective preventive strategy to improve public knowledge and encourage healthy behavioral changes. This community service program aimed to increase community awareness and understanding of NCD prevention through healthy lifestyle education in Ciputat District, South Tangerang. The program employed a participatory educational approach involving lectures, interactive discussions, question-and-answer sessions, and the distribution of educational leaflets. The implementation consisted of preparation, educational intervention, evaluation, and reporting stages. Program evaluation was conducted through participant observations and knowledge assessment before and after the educational sessions. The implementation demonstrated active community participation throughout the activities, with participants showing increased understanding of NCD risk factors and preventive measures, including balanced nutrition, regular physical activity, smoking cessation, stress management, adequate rest, and routine health screening. The educational intervention also encouraged participants to adopt healthier lifestyle practices in their daily lives. These findings indicate that community-based health education is an effective approach to improving health literacy and promoting preventive behaviors against non-communicable diseases. Continuous collaboration among higher education institutions, local government, and community organizations is recommended to sustain health promotion programs and strengthen community participation in preventing non-communicable diseases.