Insights in Public Health Journal
Vol 6 No 2 (2025): Insights in Public Health Journal

Improving Adolescent Knowledge on Mental Health and Balanced Nutrition through Meaningful Youth Participation: RAN PIJAR Health Heroes Experience in Bogor City

Sari, Nur Intan Kartika (Unknown)
Fajriyah, Afifathu Rahmah (Unknown)
Arimurti, Jazzy Dwi (Unknown)
Ramadhan, Muhammad Fajar (Unknown)
Wardana, Muhammad Trisna Kusuma (Unknown)



Article Info

Publish Date
24 Nov 2025

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.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

iphj

Publisher

Subject

Health Professions Public Health

Description

The aim of the Journal is to provide a venue for disseminating and sharing scientific information related to public health and health sciences Scope : The Journal publishes research papers, original articles, and reviews on public health and health sciences issues. The Journal is aimed at academics, ...