On Sunday, September 21, 2025, the community service team from the Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Airlangga (FF UNAIR), held a community service activity in Neighborhood Unit (RW) X, Candirejo Village, Tonggalan Village, Central Klaten District. The goal of this activity was to raise public awareness about the safe and appropriate use of medications. This aligns with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) point 3, "Good Health and Well-being."
The event was attended by dozens of local residents and opened by Mr. Agus Sugeng Saptono, Head of Neighborhood Unit (RW) 10. In his remarks, he expressed his appreciation for Unair's initiative. "This is a tangible manifestation of the academic world's concern for public health. We hope residents understand the importance of managing medications at home, as damaged medications can become toxic," he said.
The community service activity included educational presentations by two speakers from the Faculty of Pharmacy, Airlangga University. Prof. Dr. apt. Retno Sari, in her presentation on “Dosage Forms, Packaging, and Drug Safety,” emphasized the importance of recognizing the form and type of drug preparation as well as proper storage methods.
"Many people don't know the difference between enteric-coated tablets and regular tablets, even though this significantly impacts the way they take their medication and its effectiveness," explained Prof. Retno.
Dr. apt. Elida Zairina, Vice Dean III of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Airlangga University, discussed "The Importance of Patients and Families in Safe Medication Management at Home." She highlighted the importance of family support in monitoring medication consumption, especially for the elderly or patients with chronic illnesses.
In addition to education, the community service team also provided free health checks, including measuring Body Mass Index (BMI), blood pressure, blood sugar levels, and uric acid levels. Residents enthusiastically utilized this service as an early detection measure for the risk of non-communicable diseases.
One of the interesting activities at this event was RAPIKO (Rapikan Kotak Obat). Residents were asked to bring their own medicine boxes from home, and a team of pharmacists helped sort the medications based on their physical condition.
Damaged or expired medications were separated for proper disposal, while those that were still suitable were labeled with complete information regarding their identity, use, dosage, and shelf life.
The Chief Executive, apt. Arie Sulistyarini, MPharm, explained that this activity aimed to raise public awareness of the importance of medication management at home. "We want to make people more independent in understanding their medications, as misuse and improper storage can have detrimental effects," she emphasized.
This activity received a positive response from residents of Candirejo Village. One participant expressed, "The event was extraordinary; I learned so much. I just learned that the expiration date on a medication doesn't just determine the shelf life of a medication," she said.
This activity is expected to strengthen the synergy between universities and the community in fostering a healthy lifestyle and rational medication use.
