INDONESIAN JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Vol. 7 No. 1 (2026): Indonesian Journal of Medical Anthropology

The Cultural Meaning of Ageing: Community Health Posts as Psychosocial Arenas of Embodiment and Social Relations

Rutmika L.Simanullang (Unknown)
Sembiring, Sri Alem Br. (Unknown)



Article Info

Publish Date
02 Apr 2026

Abstract

This article explores how community-based health service posts in Indonesia for ageing individuals – called Posyandu Lansia – become an arena for health care, and how local sociocultural practices shape their self-understanding of ageing. The study employed a qualitative ethnographic approach, with data collection techniques including participant observation, in-depth interviews with ageing individuals at the Posyandu and in their homes, and field documentation. Data analysis was ongoing throughout the research, including visits to the homes of ageing individuals, triangulation, and analysis of sociocultural issues from field notes. The results indicate that Posyandu Lansia is understood emically by ageing individuals not only as a place for routine health services, but also as a space for social interaction, sharing experiences, motivating one another, receiving emotional support, and affirming self-worth. In this context, Posyandu becomes a space for social relations for them. These situational and contextual conditions confirm the research findings that Posyandu Lansia not only plays a role in maintaining physical health but also operates in a psychosocial and cultural arena that shapes the meaning of becoming an ageing individual, making oneself valuable by forming an ageing community institutionally supported by the state

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Journal Info

Abbrev

ijma

Publisher

Subject

Humanities Environmental Science Public Health Social Sciences

Description

Indonesian Journal of Medical Anthropology (IJMA) a global forum for scholarly articles on the social patterns of ill-health and disease transmission, and experiences of and knowledge about health, illness and wellbeing. These include the nature, organization and movement of peoples, technologies ...