Traditional Medicine Use and Pharmacist Involvement Among Patients with Diabetes and Hypertension in Semarang, Indonesia: A Cross-sectional Study

Maria Caecilia Nanny Setiawati (Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Farmasi Yayasan Pharmasi Semarang)
Siti Munisih (Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Farmasi Yayasan Pharmasi Semarang)
Klara Konsita da Rato (Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Farmasi Yayasan Pharmasi Semarang)

Indonesian Journal of Jamu
Vol. 11 No. 6 (2026): November–December 2026

Patients with diabetes or hypertension often take traditional medicine alongside prescribed drugs, yet little is known about how they involve pharmacists in that use. This descriptive cross-sectional study enrolled 110 adult users of traditional medicine, recruited by purposive sampling at a community health centre and a private clinic in Semarang, Indonesia, and surveyed them with a structured questionnaire. Their mean age was 59.5 ± 10.3 years, 77.3% were women and 73.6% had diabetes. Ginger (40.9%), turmeric (39.1%) and Indonesian bay leaf (34.5%) were the remedies named most often. Pharmacists were seldom involved: 78.2% of respondents had never discussed their remedies with a pharmacist, 81.8% had never asked a pharmacist for information about them and 78.2% had never reported a side effect to one. Meanwhile, 46.4% always or often combined remedies with prescribed drugs without consulting a doctor. Community pharmacists are well placed to close this counselling gap.