The Urgency Of Using Social Media For Public Health Centers (A Case Study in Pamekasan and Sampang)

Abstract

Social media has a broad and ever-growing meaning that makes it easier for certain individuals or communities to gather and communicate, as well as share information, ideas, photos, and other content, which can bring significant changes to society both in urban and rural areas and at the same time bring new habits. As a virtual public space, social media has the potential to be used positively so that it can be developed into a means to share, increase common capacity and have an impact on daily life for the better. The type of research in this study is qualitative descriptive research, which is research that examines the appearance or phenomenon of what the research subject experiences. The selection of informants used a purposive sample, namely the health center as a health service provider under the Health Office selected by the Health Office, namely 5 informants from Pamekasan Regency and 5 informants from Sampang Regency. Data collection was carried out by in-depth interviews with informants with in-depth and unstructured interview guidelines. Data analysis was carried out using interactive qualitative analysis techniques. The results of the study found that almost all informants (Puskesmas) used social media Whatsapp and Instagram to convey health information, health center activities during the pandemic, and health services at the health center. According to most informants, Whatsapp and Instagram are easier to do, easier to accept by the wider community, do not require special time, and are faster in delivering information. Most health centers upload information related to health and their activities during the pandemic or before the pandemic which is carried out almost every day by health center officers or following a pre-planned schedule.