Improving Adolescent Knowledge on Mental Health and Balanced Nutrition through Meaningful Youth Participation: RAN PIJAR Health Heroes Experience in Bogor City Nur Intan Kartika Sari(a*,b), Afifathu Rahmah Fajriyah(b), Jazzy Dwi Arimurti(b), Muhammad Fajar Ramadhan(b), Muhammad Trisna Kusuma Wardana(b)
a) Department of Public Health. Faculty of Health Science, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman*nur.intan[at]unsoed.ac.id
b) Yayasan Remaja Indonesia Sehat (RISE Foundation), Yogyakarta, DIY
Abstract
Background: Adolescents aged 10-19 experience rapid development, making them vulnerable to nutrition and mental health issues- to address this, the RAN PIJAR program was implemented in Bogor using the Meaningful Youth Participation (MYP) approach through Health Heroes Facilitators to enhance their health knowledge.
Methods: This quasi-experimental study used a one-group pre-test and post-test design involving 335 adolescents aged 15-18 years from nine senior high schools and one city-level scout organization in Bogor City. Health education sessions applied participatory methods such as Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), Human-Centered Design (HCD), and audiovisual materials. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used due to non-normal data distribution.
Results: After the intervention, the proportion of respondents with good knowledge on mental health and nutrition increased significantly from 50.1% with poor knowledge to 80.9% with good knowledge. A statistically significant improvement was observed (p = 0.000), with median rising from 50 (pre-test) to 90 (post-test).
Conclusions: The intervention using the MYP approach effectively improved adolescent knowledge on mental health and balanced nutrition. The participatory and peer-led design created a relatable and engaging environment for adolescents. Future health education programs should adopt a sustainable, gender-equitable, and media-diverse approach and be integrated with school-based health initiatives such as School Health Units (UKS) and healthy canteens.
