The role of social media in optimizing the healthy lifestyle movement “GERMAS” during the COVID-19 pandemic

https://doi.org/10.22146/jcoemph.66421

Fahmi Baiquni(1), Tri Siswati(2), Riadini Rachmawati(3), Herni Endah Widyawati(4), Ratri Kusuma Wardhani(5), Supriyati Supriyati(6*)

(1) Department of Health Behavior, Environment, and Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia; Center of Health Behavior and Promotion, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
(2) Department of Nutrition, Ministry of Health Polytechnic Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
(3) Center of Health Behavior and Promotion, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
(4) Department of Nutrition, Ministry of Health Polytechnic Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
(5) Sleman Health Demographic and Surveillance System (Sleman HDSS), Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
(6) Department of Health Behavior, Environment, and Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia; Center of Health Behavior and Promotion, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
(*) Corresponding Author

Abstract


The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) demands community participation to overcome the spread of the pandemic. The social movement such as the healthy lifestyle movement (GERMAS) plays an important role to break the chain of COVID-19 transmission. Meanwhile, the infodemic of false news has caused misinformation and disinformation. Raising the community’s health literacy will lead people to participate in the GERMAS social movement. This study aimed to explore the use of social media to improve health literacy concerning the healthy lifestyle social movement called “GERMAS”. This research was conducted in Yogyakarta by reviewing related documents and literature, and collecting primary data. Primary data collection was done through online surveys, focus group discussions, and an in-depth interview. There were 461 respondents, with 449 respondents who filled out online surveys, 11 people who participated in the focus group discussions, and 1 person who was interviewed. The study showed that WhatsApp was the most widely accessed source of information about COVID-19 (83%) and health protocols (82%) after television. In addition, WhatsApp has become the main source of information about GERMAS (73%). The credible source of information was very important to help the community during the COVID-19 pandemic and the ‘false news’ infodemic. Various stakeholders provided information related to the COVID-10 and how to prevent the spread of the virus. In addition, Yogyakarta health officers developed a communication network through WhatsApp groups from the provincial to sub-district/village levels (community leaders) that were used to share information on a regular basis to the public. Additionally, community leaders were able to ask health officers questions related to COVID-19 issues and prevention.  Unfortunately, the lack of “think tanks”, and bureaucratic ties made this network unable to function optimally. In conclusion, social media has an important role in optimizing the GERMAS program during the COVID-19 pandemic. Social media management and good cooperation between the government and private agencies are important keys for optimizing GERMAS during the COVD-19 pandemic era.


Keywords


COVID-19 pandemic; healthy lifestyle; health literacy; social media; social movement

Full Text:

PDF


References

1. Presiden Republik Indonesia. Peraturan pemerintah republik indonesia nomor 21 tahun 2020 tentang pembatasan sosial berskala besar dalam rangka percepatan penanganan Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Indonesia; 2020 p. 1–8.

2. Lembaga Bantuan Hukum Bandung. Laporan Hasil Survey: Pemetaan Kondisi Penghidupan, Akses atas Pangan dan Kesehatan Keluarga dalam Masa Pandemi Covid-19 di Jawa Barat. Bandung; 2020.

3. Astuti PB, Mahardhika AS. COVID-19: how does it impact to the Indonesian economy? J Inov Ekon. 2020 Apr;5(02):85–92.

4. Badan Pusat Statistik Provinsi D.I Yogyakarta. Hasil Sensus Penduduk 2020. Berita Resmi Statistik. Yogyakarta; 2021.

5. World Health Organization. Stigma Sosial Terkait Dengan COVID-19. Unicef. 2020;1–5.

6. Presiden Republik Indonesia. Instruksi Presiden Republik Indonesia Nomor 1 Tahun 2017 tentang Gerakan Masyarakat Hidup Sehat. Indonesia; 2017 p. 1–15.

7. Silvano F, Yashifa A, Pandapotan D, Gunawan C, Anindyaningtyas IW, Supriyati S, et al. Barriers to health protocol adherence during exercise among youth in the COVID-19 pandemic era. J Community Empowerment Health. 2021;4(1):8-15.

8. Zarocostas J. How to fight an infodemic. Lancet. 2020 Feb;395(10225):676.

9. Supriyati S, Angraeny DK, Carissa TM, Sheila AP, Qisthi SA, Rianti M, et al. Preparing new normal: the health literacy assessment on the COVID-19. Ber Kedokt Mas. 2021 Jan;37(1):27.

10. Sørensen K, Pelikan JM, Röthlin F, Ganahl K, Slonska Z, Doyle G, et al. Health literacy in Europe: comparative results of the European health literacy survey (HLS-EU). Eur J Public Health. 2015;25(6):1053–8.

11. Chen X, Hay JL, Waters EA, Kiviniemi MT, Biddle C, Schofield E, et al. Health literacy and use and trust in health information. J Health Commun. 2018;23(8):724–34.

12. Gunawan R, Pratama MY, Sulaiman, Anggriani FPG. Increasing of HIV / AIDS prevention and drugs through whatsapp based training and assistance in adolescents in Batang Kuis Deli Serdang District. Int J Sci Eng Res. 2018;9(9):1005–8.

13. Creswell JW, Clark VLP. Designing and Conducting Mixed Method Research. 3rd Ed. USA: Sage Publication; 2017.

14. Ekadinata N, Widyandana D. Promosi kesehatan menggunakan gambar dan teks dalam aplikasi WhatsApp pada kader posbindu. Ber Kedokt Masy. 2017;33(11):547.

15. Stellefson M, Paige SR, Chaney BH, Chaney JD. Evolving role of social media in health promotion: Updated responsibilities for health education specialists. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(4).

16. Jane M, Hagger M, Foster J, Ho S, Pal S. Social media for health promotion and weight management: a critical debate. BMC Public Health. 2018;18(1):1–7.

17. Zhou L, Zhang D, Yang CC, Wang Y. Harnessing social media for health information management. Electron Commer Res Appl. 2018;27:139–51.



DOI: https://doi.org/10.22146/jcoemph.66421

Article Metrics

Abstract views : 2125 | views : 1602

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2022 Journal of Community Empowerment for Health

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.