Motives and Meanings of Herbal Medicine Use: A Qualitative Analysis of Communication and Social Influence
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31000/nyimak.v10i2.15766Abstract
Herbal medicine use in Indonesia is usually explained as clinically driven health behavior. This study instead treats it as a communicative accomplishment shaped by social networks, narrative persuasion, and digital media. It asks how efficacy and safety are socially constructed and how reference groups shape them. Sixty-two herbal medicine users in Bogor Regency, Bogor City, and East Jakarta participated starting from March 2025 to February 2026 through semi-structured in-depth interviews, one focus group discussion, and a key informant interview with a practising herbalist. Values coding identified dominant motives, and narrative analysis interpreted their justification. Efficacy and safety or naturalness dominated, followed by access, dissatisfaction with biomedical treatment, cost, and ease of preparation. Parents, relatives, and social media initiated use more often than doctors. Efficacy came from experiential testimony rather than biomedical evidence, while safety was inferred from a natural-equals-safe heuristic, with adverse reactions reinterpreted as detoxification. Credibility followed relational proximity before institutional position. Health interventions should enter the reference networks and narrative forms through which herbal remedies circulate. Findings suggest that trust and safety are assembled through source relationships, so digital literacy and harm reduction should work within channels.
Keywords: Herbal medicine, health communication, narrative persuasion, parasocial interaction, digital health influencers.
ABSTRAK
Penggunaan obat herbal di Indonesia biasanya dijelaskan sebagai perilaku kesehatan yang didorong secara klinis. Studi ini justru memandangnya sebagai pencapaian komunikatif yang dibentuk oleh jejaring sosial, persuasi naratif, dan media digital. Penelitian ini menanyakan bagaimana efektivitas dan keamanan secara sosial dikonstruksi, serta bagaimana kelompok referensi membentuknya. Enam puluh dua pengguna obat herbal di Kabupaten Bogor, Kota Bogor, dan Jakarta Timur berpartisipasi dimulai pada bulan Maret 2025 hingga Februari 2026 melalui wawancara mendalam semi-terstruktur, satu diskusi kelompok terfokus, dan satu wawancara informan kunci dengan seorang herbalis yang berpraktik. Kode nilai mengidentifikasi motif dominan, dan analisis naratif menafsirkan pembenarannya. Efektivitas dan keamanan atau kealamian mendominasi, diikuti oleh akses, ketidakpuasan terhadap pengobatan biomedis, biaya, dan kemudahan peracikan. Orang tua, kerabat, dan media sosial lebih sering memulai penggunaan dibandingkan dokter. Efektivitas diperoleh dari testimoni pengalaman alih-alih bukti biomedis, sementara keamanan disimpulkan dari heuristik alami sama dengan aman, dengan reaksi merugikan ditafsirkan ulang sebagai detoksifikasi. Kredibilitas mengikuti kedekatan relasional sebelum posisi institusional. Intervensi kesehatan sebaiknya memasuki jejaring referensi dan bentuk naratif tempat sirkulasi ramuan herbal. Temuan menunjukkan bahwa kepercayaan dan keselamatan dibangun melalui hubungan sumber, sehingga literasi digital dan pengurangan dampak buruk sebaiknya bekerja dalam saluran-saluran tersebut.
Kata Kunci: Obat herbal, komunikasi kesehatan, persuasi naratif, interaksi parasosial, influencer kesehatan digital.
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