Tuberculosis disease, or TB, has seen an increase in cases annually in Indonesia, particularly in the province of Central Java. In order to stop this disease from spreading, it is necessary to improve the screening and medication processes for this particular disease. In response to this circumstance, the Faculty of Health Science at Universitas Dian Nuswantoro (Udinus) launched a Tuberculosis Disease Vulnerability Distribution System known as ‘Panglima Sudirman.’

The system was a result of the Kedaireka funding program initiated by the government. The program utilizes the Tuberculosis Information System (TBIS)  and ‘Semar Betul.’ Consequently, this system could essentially be utilized by the Service of Health in Semarang to oversee the vulnerability of the public toward tuberculosis.

Pada proses kerjanya sistem ini, petugas puskesmas melakukan entry data di SITB dan ditambahkan beberapa variabel penyebab kerentanan kasus TBC. Variabel itu seperti sikap, stigma yang ada, literasi hingga kondisi rumah. Kemudian, Data-data tersebut ditambahkan dengan data primer dan dapat menentukan kerentanan kasus TB di suatu wilayah.  

The name ‘Panglima Sudirman’ is an acronym for ‘Program Percepatan Penurunan Penyakit Menural Melalui Sistem Distribusi Kerentanan Penyakit Tuberkulosis,’ which literally means The Acceleration of Reducing Infectious Diseases Program Through Distribution System of the Vulnerability of Tuberculosis Disease. Additionally, this name was also chosen as an admiration of the late General Sudirman for becoming a national hero despite his tuberculosis.

A researcher, Dr. MG. Catur Yuantari, S.KM., M.Kes., explained that the system could produce mapping data in the form of infographics consisting of TB vulnerability in a specific region.

He then further explained that the system would indicate a vulnerability depicted by certain colors. For example, if the data depicts an area black, the area had the most TB cases. Moreover, Dr. Catur Yuantari also revealed that the system would automatically suggest prevention methods.

“We will launch the system at the end of the year, equipped with Artificial Intelligence as the basis, making it much easier to handle problems surrounding TB cases. In addition, the system will work with a high speed and precision, which could provide aid to the Service of Health in Semarang,” he explained.

While developing the system, Dr. Catur and his teams from the Service of Health in Semarang spent around eight months to finally put a finishing touch on the system. However, it did not mean that the team had not encountered any problems, as they did actually meet one, specifically in the data inputting process. At that time, the data synchronization was a bare minimum to process the field data.

“We actually struggled to retrieve the data serving as the primary data. However, our good teamwork led us to put an end to this problem,” he uttered during the launching of the Tuberculosis Disease Vulnerability Distribution System.

The Launching Hosted at the Grasia Hotel Semarang.

The launching was attended by Dr. Mochamad Abdul Hakam. (the Head of the Service of Health in Semarang), Enny Rachmany, S.K.M., M.Kom., Ph.D. (the Dean of the Health Science Faculty at Udinus), Dr. MG. Catur Yuantari, S.K.M., M.Kes. (the Researcher of the Tuberculosis Disease Vulnerability Distribution System), Anang Budi Utomo (a member of the Regional People’s Representative Council).

The launching was attended by Dr. Mochamad Abdul Hakam, Sp. Pd officially launched the Tuberculosis Disease Vulnerability Distribution System. Additionally, dr. Hakam also hoped the system could contribute to handling the tuberculosis cases within Central Java.

“Hopefully, in the near future, we can achieve the zero TB in Central Java by utilizing this system. Not only that, we would also like to oversee the results of utilizing this system,” he hoped. (Humas Udinus/Alex. Foto: Humas Udinus)