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From many islands to one, how Alenda is working to strengthen Indonesia’s primary health care model.

When School of Population Health Masters student Alenda Putra was growing up on the island of Java, one of his favourite things was being part of Indonesia’s Youth Red Cross.

 “I was always interested in biology and chemistry and then when I was in high school, I joined the Youth Red Cross and that really helped grow my interest in health and nursing in particular,” says Alenda, known as Alen to his friends and workmates at UNSW’s Centre for Primary Health Care and Equity.

“The Red Cross taught us a lot about first aid and basic life support, and also, how to respond to disaster situations because in Indonesia we have our share of natural disasters like floods and landslides.”

Alen’s family live in Magetan in East Java, a small town known as ‘the city at the foot of the mountain’ due to its proximity to Mount Lawu. A sleeping volcano, Mount Lawu is one of Java’s holiest mountains and is loved by worshippers and visiting hikers alike. Alen’s parents, who both studied Indonesian Literature Studies at university, run a fertiliser business servicing the region’s rice fields and vegetable farmers. Determined Alen would learn English as a child, they sent to him to the after school English lessons.

“When I was at school, English wasn’t taught in primary school although it was taught in secondary schools,” says Alen. 

“Indonesia has a population of 275 million people, and of course, Indonesia is the official language but there are more than 17 000 islands in Indonesia and more than 700 local languages. My parents don’t speak English so they were determined I would learn it.”  

After completing his schooling, Alen moved to neighbouring city, Yogyakarta and its Universitas Gadjah Mada. Alen graduated with a Bachelor in Nursing.  

“In Indonesia to become a nurse we have to study for four years university and then do one additional year clinical placement, which I did at teaching hospitals in Yogyakarta,” says Alen.

“It was a very busy year because as nurse you are studying not just about the human body and medical conditions, but also about the psychological, cultural, social and spiritual attributes of every patient and as I tend to look at every patient as the sum of all these conditions, as a nurse you become aware that every patient faces difference challenges which in turn affect how you might treat the whole person.”

After graduating Alen worked for few months as a nurse at his training hospital until Universitas Gadjah Mada offered him a position as a research assistant with the Department of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health & Nursing.

 “In 2014 Indonesia launched a new National Health Insurance scheme to bring equitable health care to all its population but because Indonesia has a population of 275 million across more than 17,500 islands implementing new system is hard.”

“It was when I was working as nurse in the hospital, I saw problems in the management of the health system at home and I began to think I needed to study more to understand nursing from a management perspective to help implement the new legislation and regulations and to help bring a more patient centred approach and holistic approach to our healthcare and management.” 

In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Alen applied for an Australia Awards Scholarship. Long terms awards administered by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, these scholarships aim to contribute to the development needs of Australia’s partner countries, such as Indonesia through study at Australian universities. Out of 6021 applicants in 2020, Alen was one of 50 successful candidates from Indonesia. The award covers tuition fees, return airfares and provides a living allowance and other entitlements. As soon as Alen heard he had won a scholarship, he applied to study his Masters in Global Health and Health Leadership and Management with the School of Population Health. He arrived in 2023 to begin his Masters and will graduate in September 2024. In February Alen took up an internship with UNSW’s Centre for Primary Health Care and Equity and is now employed as a casual research assistant. Under supervisors Associate Professor Margo Barr and Dr Cathy O’Callaghan, leads on the Evaluation of the Virtual Health Hub for People Experiencing Homelessness an ongoing project started by Sydney Local Health District to utilise telehealth solutions to individuals experiencing homeless and residing in crisis accommodation in the Sydney metropolitan region. 

“I am using my quantitative and qualitative research skills, my understandings of social justice/equity, implementation science framework, and the public health program to help evaluate the data from the virtual health hub to try and help people experiencing homelessness receive the services of a GP or psychologist they might require. It is a very interesting and worthwhile project.”

When not studying or working, Alen enjoys living in Sydney.

“It’s very different to Indonesia not least because of its expensiveness but I am a city boy and I love the water, so I love the beaches and I love the harbour here” says Alen.

“Also, although tennis is not big in Indonesia, I started playing as an under grad at university and I love playing tennis here because it is quite big in Australia, I think. Also, there are lots of free public tennis courts in Sydney which is really nice.” 

After achieving his Masters, Alen is looking forward to returning to Indonesia.

“I am planning to go back to my professional institution which is my previous university, and I will work there as a health researcher and implementation scientist in the context of health management,” he says.

“I have learnt a lot of theoretical frameworks during my studying here at UNSW and I am sure I can input much of what I have learnt into the context of the Indonesian healthcare system. 

“With so many islands, ensuring the equal access of healthcare services across my country is very challenging but that’s what I want to help contribute to; to develop a model of healthcare that can be used and implemented right across Indonesia. That’s the challenge and opportunity for me now.”