Central Java Government’s Speling Programme Helps Residents Get Screened for TB

Residents of Sukodono Village, Tahunan Sub-district, Jepara Regency, enthusiastically took part in free health checks through the Mobile Specialist Doctor (Speling) programme, integrated with Free Health Checks (CKG), today.

The event, attended by Central Java Regional Secretary Sumarno, Deputy Health Minister Benjamin Paulus Octavianus and Deputy Home Affairs Minister Akhmad Wiyagus, also included active tuberculosis (TB) case-finding (ACF). The initiative is a strategy to identify TB cases directly within the community.

Through the programme, residents can learn about their health and undergo checks for possible exposure to TB.

Sumarno, representing Central Java Governor Ahmad Luthfi, visited the health checks. They included sputum collection for acid-fast bacilli (AFB) testing, X-rays, blood pressure and height measurements, and laboratory tests as needed.

Dina Amelia, one of the residents who took part, said she had come with five family members after learning of a history of TB in their family.

She hoped the checks would help confirm the health of all her family members and prevent transmission.

“We hope no one in the family has been infected and that everyone stays healthy. Thankfully, we can get free health checks through this programme,” Dina said in a written statement on Tuesday (13 October 2026).

Another resident, Nurhamidah, said she had heard about the event from a village health worker. She said she had previously experienced chest pain and a cough that subsided for a time but later returned.

Nurhamidah hoped TB screening would help people learn about their health earlier, allowing treatment to begin promptly.

“If the illness can be identified early, treatment can also be given sooner,” she said.

Tahunan Community Health Centre head Pramita Sukti Setyarini said TB tracing was important to find cases that had not yet been detected, including among people without symptoms. Active screening is needed so that people at risk of TB infection can be examined promptly and receive care in line with their diagnosis, she said.

“With this tracing, we can identify patients who have TB symptoms, those without symptoms, as well as people with a history of contact. X-rays allow us to see the lungs and help detect possible TB,” Pramita said.

She said TB screening in the Tahunan Community Health Centre’s service area was expected to take place regularly each month. It would cover several villages and include tracing close contacts of patients confirmed to have TB.

Close contacts include family members, close friends and work colleagues. They are advised to get checked even if they have no symptoms, particularly if they have been in contact with a TB patient.

“Even if they have no symptoms, if they have a history of contact, we can ask them to come in for an examination,” she said.

Pramita welcomed the event in Sukodono, which combined TB tracing with the Speling programme. Available checks included X-rays, blood pressure and height measurements, and laboratory tests as needed.

The integrated approach is expected to make it easier for residents to access several health services in one event. Service data are also entered into the Satu Sehat system.