Stunting Prevention and Management: Optimizing the Roles of Parents and Cadres

Stunting is still a major public health issue. Effective prevention and control measures require a comprehensive strategy that includes community participation and health system support. The UPN Veteran Jakarta Community Territory (UCT) initiative has identified Integrated Service Post (Posyandu) Apel as its partner for community service activities. This community service uses a variety of methodologies, including field observations, focus group discussions, health screenings, and parental counseling in Posyandu Apel. The results showed that 2.6% children had severely wasted, 10.52% had stunted, and 5.3% had severely stunted. The study found a significant improvement in mother knowledge levels, with 44.8% of participants scoring above the median before counseling and 100% passing the median after counseling. The study suggests that building cadre capacity, integrating mother and child health care, and increasing access to community-based children health management is an effective and sustainable method for reducing stunting prevalence.