HELIOS (Health Policy: Behind Closed Doors) is one of SCOME CIMSA UGM’s activities. Over the decades, SCOME had a goal to improve the quality of both the medical students and the curriculum, and HELIOS is part of that effort. HELIOS provides an insight for medical students about how health policies are formed and how it is important for those in the medical field to take part in their formation. We used the COVID-19 pandemic as a background theme throughout the event and split it into two webinar sessions and Focus Group Discussion. We are honored to have dr. Muhammad Adib Khumaidi, Sp.OT as our first speaker and dr. Tiara Marthias, MPH, PHD from the Department of Health Policy and Management, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing UGM as our second speaker, as well as dr. Hanifiya Samha Wardhani as the moderator for both webinar and Focus Group Discussion.
Attended by medical students across the nation, this event was held on the 10th of October, 2021 at 13.00–16.00 WIB through Zoom Meeting and also broadcasted live through YouTube on the CIMSA UGM channel.
In the first session, dr. Muhammad Adib Khumaidi, Sp.OT explained how every health policy in Indonesia is made, especially those related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The second session was delivered by dr. Tiara Marthias, MPH, PHD, in which she elaborated on a more practical and clinical point of view and highlighted maternal issues during the pandemic. Besides the points mentioned, both speakers also emphasized the importance of medical professionals to take part in the formation of the health policy and persuaded medical students to put more attention to the health policy field.
Remember those maternal issues that were mentioned in the second seminar session? Those topics also became the main topic of discussion in focus group discussion in the last part of the event. We discussed the case for 20 minutes before presenting it to dr. Hanifiya Samha Wardhani to be evaluated and explained according to her view of the case.
We hope that the insights you got from this activity can help you become a medical professional with awareness of health policies and realize that medical professionals have roles in forming the health policies. So open your eyes, and let’s be more aware of our health policy because it’s our responsibility!