Education on Tepid Sponging and Simple Inhalation for Managing Acute Respiratory Infections During the Transitional Season

Abstract

This educational outreach aimed to enhance the knowledge and skills of housewives in the early management of Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI) through education and hands-on practice of simple inhalation and tepid sponging techniques. The program was carried out using interactive counseling and live demonstrations involving 27 participants in Dusun Tugu, Sragen. The activity began with a pre-test to assess participants’ initial understanding, followed by material presentation, practical demonstrations, a post-test, and a Q&A session. Evaluation results showed a significant improvement in participants’ understanding after the program. Before the session, only 18.52% of participants were able to independently identify ARI management steps, which increased to 92.6% afterward. Participants demonstrated high enthusiasm and successfully performed the techniques correctly. Educational leaflets were also produced to support participants’ understanding and are expected to be applied within their families. This activity demonstrates that a practice-based educational approach is effective in improving community readiness to address health risks during the transitional (pancaroba) season.