17 April 2016 – A group of second year BSc (Hons) Nutrition students volunteered at a community service activity at Dewan Orang Ramai Kampung Baru Salak Selatan. This community service is one of the IMU Cares flagship project targeting the urban poor population residing in and within Salak Selatan. Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL) together with several local non-government organisations (NGOs) are our community partners for this activity. Free health screening, dental screening, chiropractic as well as Chinese medicine screening and treatments were provided to 200 participants who turned out during this activity. On top of that, free cataract screening is also provided to participants with the possibility of free surgery for eligible participants.
Nutrition students were in charge of body measurements, which included body weight and height, body fat percentage as well as waist and hip circumferences. In addition, these students also measured blood pressure, sugar and lipid profile of the participants. Dietary intake and physical activity patterns of the participants were also attained and analysed during the event.
Nutrition student, Brandon Chan shared that he has improved his communication skills through translating what he had studied in the classroom to the general public in different languages. Besides that, he is also learning how to handle both expected and unexpected questions posted by the public through this activity, which served as a practice for him and to learn about his future working environment. A total of 17 qualified participants from this event were suspected to have non-communicable diseases, such as high blood pressure, high blood sugar, or high lipid profile, and have been referred to the IMU Healthcare Clinic for further diagnosis and follow up. In addition, 8 eligible cataract patients were identified for the free cataract surgery. The organising committee of this activity hopes to create awareness among the community of Salak South on the importance of wellness towards health as a whole.
Another student, Rachel David felt happy that she is able to sharpen her body measurement skills and also learned the techniques on blood sugar and lipid profile determination via this activity. She is able to turn her knowledge and skills into practice through this platform, which provided valuable experiential learning experiences to her.
