Education on Quality Standards and Safety of Traditional Medicine in Tatung Village

Abstract

The community of Tatung Village, many of whom work as farmers, often consumes traditional medicine (jamu) to overcome health problems. However, public knowledge, especially among PKK women, regarding the quality standards, safety, and hygiene of traditional medicine is still low, potentially posing health risks.This community service activity aimed to increase the knowledge of PKK women in Tatung Village about the quality standards, safety, and proper selection of traditional medicine according to BPOM guidelines. The method used was health education through interactive counseling using PowerPoint media and brochures, discussions, and direct practice of checking BPOM distribution permit numbers. The activity was attended by 20 PKK women. The evaluation used a pre-test and post-test design, and the data were analyzed using the N-Gain score test to measure the increase in knowledge.The results of the N-Gain analysis showed that 60% of participants (12 people) experienced a high increase in knowledge (N-Gain ≥ 0.7), 15% (3 people) experienced a moderate increase (0.3 ≤ N-Gain < 0.7), and 25% (5 people) showed no increase (N-Gain = 0) because their pre-test scores were already perfect (100). The average pre-test score was 85.5, which increased to 97.5 in the post-test. Educational activities on the quality standards and safety of traditional medicine are effective in significantly increasing the knowledge of PKK women in Tatung Village. A participatory and interactive educational approach is proven to be able to improve community literacy regarding safe traditional medicine.