Exploring unconventional food plants used by local communities in a rural area of West Java, Indonesia: ethnobotanical assessment, use trends, and potential for improved nutrition.

BACKGROUND: As one of the world's biodiversity hotspots, Indonesia contains over 25,000 plant species, including unconventional food plants (UFPs). These plants are integral to the dietary practices of rural communities, providing essential nutrients often overlooked in modern diets. However, the use of UFP is declining, with both their dietary and cultural values being undermined. In rural West Java, this decline in UFP biodiversity coincides with public health challenges related to malnutrition. This study aims to document the diversity of UFPs used by local communities in rural West Java, assess their nutritional value, and explore their consumption practices. METHODS: Data were collected using mixed methods, including interviews with 20 key informants and food frequency questionnaire administered to 107 women in three villages in the area. The nutritional compositions of documented UFPs were obtained from literature and analysis. Bivariate correlation was used to analyze the relationships between UFP consumption frequency and potential correlates. RESULTS: The study documented 52 species of UFPs from 29 families, many of which are rich in nutritional value. About half of respondents (56%) consumed UFPs moderately (2-3 times a week). UFP consumption frequency had a strong correlation (r = 0.70) with associated knowledge (r = 0.70, p < 0.01) and a weak correlation with age (r = 0.240, p = 0.015), livestock possession (r = 0.260, p = 0.008), and family size (r = - 0.220, p = 0.02). Motivations for UFP consumption included availability as free food (33%), medicinal value (26%), nostalgic value (23%), and preferred taste (18%). Most respondents (92%) agreed that consumption has declined compared to the past, with perceived reduced availability and lack of knowledge cited as the primary reasons for the declining trend. CONCLUSIONS: UFP use is common in the study area, where local communities value these plants for their critical roles in diet, medicine, and culture. Given their significant potential to meet dietary needs, educating and raising awareness about UFPs can enhance their consumption and contribute to food and nutrition security.

The project, the everyday, and reflexivity in sociotechnical agri-food assemblages: proposing a conceptual model of digitalisation.

Digital technologies have opened up new perspectives in thinking about the future of food and farming. Not only do these new technologies promise to revolutionise our way of meeting global food demand, they do so by boldly claiming that they can reduce their environmental impacts. However, they also have the potential to transform the organisation of agri-food systems more fundamentally. Drawing on assemblage theory, we propose a conceptual model of digitalisation organised around three facets: digitalisation as a project; "everyday digitalisation"; and reflexive digitalisation. These facets reflect different relations between concrete practices and representations, imaginaries, and narratives, while representing different modes of agency: the collective, the distributed, and the individual, which, we argue, highlight contrasting ways for human and non-human actors to engage with digitalisation. With this model anchored in assemblage theory, we offer a tool for critically and comprehensively engaging with the complexity and multiplicity of digitalisation as a sociotechnical process. We then apply our theoretical framework to two ethnographic studies, one explores the growth of digital technologies in Switzerland as a way to govern and monitor national agriculture, the other focuses on Indonesia, where small digital startups have begun to dot the landscape. By identifying the material and semiotic processes occurring in each case, we notice similar issues being raised in terms of how digitalisation is co-constructed in society.

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice towards Hepatitis B Infection Prevention and Screening among Indonesians.

Hepatitis B has been one of the most prevalent infectious diseases in the world and specifically in Indonesia. Although the total conversion of hepatitis B virus (HBV) to chronic disease in Indonesia was reduced by 50%, the total number of hepatitis B cases increased by 2.5 times in 2021. Ineffective HBV immunization program in Indonesia prior to 1997 was addressed by the Ministry of Health through a more comprehensive HBV control, which, among others, involved Health Promotion to increase people's knowledge and awareness towards hepatitis B infection prevention. In this regard, this study aims to identify the level of knowledge, attitude, and practice/behavior of the Indonesian population towards hepatitis B infection prevention and their willingness for screening, particularly in areas with high prevalence of hepatitis B. This study used a quantitative approach in looking at correlations between this set of knowledge, attitude, and practice, mainly by using Structural Equation Model (SEM) and SmartPLS 3.3.3 toolkit in SPSS. Through an analysis of online questionnaire results from over 400 respondents in four provinces (DKI Jakarta, West Java, DI Yogyakarta, and South Sulawesi), this study shows that respondents have a very high level of knowledge about hepatitis B; high level of positive attitude; and very high level of positive practice towards hepatitis B infection prevention. However, we also noticed some dissonances between the key aspects, namely that knowledge on hepatitis B correlates negatively with the behavior of the respondents and that the behavior also correlates negatively with their willingness for screening. In conclusion, we suggest that factors such as socio-economic context and prior informed knowledge on hepatitis B be considered to build a better strategy of Health Promotion and hepatitis B diagnostic screening among the population.

Evaluation of Health Information System (HIS) in The Surveillance of Dengue in Indonesia: Lessons from Case in Bandung, West Java.

This study was performed to evaluate the health information system regarding the dengue surveillance system in Indonesia. Major obstacles to the implementation of an effective health information system regarding dengue cases in Bandung are examined, and practical suggestions on measures to overcome them are discussed. The study utilized a mixed-method research design using qualitative approaches: document analysis, key informants and focus group interviews. Thirty key informants were selected, comprised of policymakers, senior managers, and staff at the Ministry of Health. Data from documents and transcripts were evaluated through a modified Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework described by Ostrom. Through this study, we have identified several issues that hinder the effective implementation of the health information system in the case of dengue in Bandung. In the end, we propose several recommendations for reform that encompasses motivational, strategic, and structural approaches to each component of the analysis. Through evaluation of the health information system for dengue surveillance in Indonesia, we conclude that well-coordination in multi-level governance in a country as large as Indonesia is the key in the implementation of the health information system in different levels of agencies. Furthermore, the adaptability of human resources in adopting a new information system also plays an important part.