Medicinal plants play an essential role in primary healthcare practices in Indonesia, particularly in rural areas. In this study Dr. Dian Rosleine and colleagues explore the utilization of medicinal plants in rural West Java by examining how herbal medicine use varies with socio-economic and demographic factors and whether herbal medicine use remains important when modern healthcare becomes available. The study reported that medicinal plant remains a significant aspect of healthcare for rural communities in the West Java area, suggesting that the presence of healthcare services under the universal health coverage (UHC system) is not a critical determining factor for treatment-seeking and may have less impact on the pervasive practice of herbal medicine use in rural areas.

Article Citation:

Rahayu, YYS., Araki, T., Rosleine,D. 2020. Factors affecting the use of herbal medicines in the universal health coverage system in Indonesia. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 260 (112974): 1-10.

Full paper is published in Journal of Ethnopharmacology: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2020.112974

Image (first page):

Medicinal plant (upper image)(Source:alliedacademies.com)

Scheme of universal health coverage in Indonesia (lower image)(Source: Rahayu et al. 2020)

Profile of Dr. Dian Rosleine: https://sith.itb.ac.id/en/dianrosleine/