Medan – FKM USU : The Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Sumatera Utara (FKM USU), held a Policy Brief Writing Workshop themed “Turn Your Research into Policy Recommendations with Real Impact” on Friday, 23 October 2026, from 09.00 to 11.30 WIB (Western Indonesia Time) in the 2nd Floor Meeting Room of FKM USU.

The workshop was a follow-up to the 16th National Forum of the Indonesian Health Policy Network (Jaringan Kebijakan Kesehatan Indonesia/JKKI), organized by the Center for Health Policy and Management, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada (FK-KMK UGM), on 21–22 October 2026. The forum’s theme was “Strengthening Health Financing Policy and the National Health Insurance (JKN) to Support Health System Transformation,” and its agenda included drafting policy briefs on the direction of revisions to the 2004 National Social Security System Law (UU SJSN) and the 2011 Social Security Administering Bodies Law (UU BPJS). FKM USU was entrusted to co-host the forum in partnership with FK-KMK UGM.

This collaboration reflects the commitment of both universities to strengthening the national health policy network and promoting evidence-based health policies. The workshop was offered free of charge to participants of the 16th JKKI National Forum to equip them to write policy briefs on their own. It was opened by the Vice Dean I of FKM USU, Sri Rahayu Sanusi, S.K.M., M.Kes., Ph.D. In her opening remarks, she expressed her hope that, through policy briefs, students’ research findings would reach policymakers and bring real benefits to the community.

The workshop was prompted by the fact that many public health research findings are not yet used by policymakers, because scientific articles are generally written for academic readers. Policy briefs bridge this gap: they are short documents that present scientific evidence and recommendations in a way that is easy to understand and ready to be acted upon. The first session was presented by Destanul Aulia, S.K.M., M.B.A., M.Ec., Ph.D., who explained why health policy advice matters and introduced different models of policy advice.

The second session was presented by Dr. Siti Khadijah Nasution, S.K.M., M.Kes., who covered the format and key components of a policy brief and how to write one, followed by a hands-on practice session. Each session ended with a question-and-answer discussion with the participants, who were undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral students of FKM USU, especially those working on their undergraduate theses, master’s theses, or dissertations. The hope is that their research can make a real contribution to improving health policy.

This activity supports the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), by strengthening health financing policy and JKN toward universal health coverage; SDG 4 (Quality Education), by equipping students with relevant and practical skills; and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), through the collaboration between FKM USU and FK-KMK UGM to strengthen the national health policy network.