BPS 2023 figures: self-treatment is the top reason sick North Sumatrans forgo formal care. Sibolga (87.5%), Nias (84.7%), Tanjungbalai (82.7%) led.

Layanan ini menggunakan API Badan Pusat Statistik. This service uses the Central Statistics Agency API. From Indonesia.

When a fever hits, many North Sumatrans reach for leftover antibiotics or a traditional jamu rather than queue at a community health center.

The numbers from the province's 2023 socio-economic survey (Susenas) reveal just how widespread that habit is — and pose an unexpected question for public health officials.

What's the single biggest reason people stay away from clinics? Self-treatment — "mengobati sendiri" — dominates in every single regency and city across North Sumatra. In Sibolga , 87.

5% of residents who reported a health complaint but skipped outpatient care listed self-medication as the main reason. The pattern holds strongly in Nias (84.7%) and Tanjungbalai (82.

7%), as well as in more urbanised Medan , where self-treatment still accounted for over half of non-visits. Isn't it just a lack of money or transport? Surprisingly, cost and accessibility barely crack the ranking.

No more than 4.4% of non-seeking respondents in any area cited affordability of care itself, and transport costs or lack of vehicles registered below 3% everywhere.

Even "long waiting time" as a barrier peaked at just 5.4% in Tapanuli Utara. The data suggests that the obstacles are less about logistics and more about perception. Which areas buck the self-treatment trend?

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