KKN and Digital Health Literacy: Students Become Technology and Village Bridges
challenges and solutions in improving access to health services in rural areas
In various villages in Indonesia, access to proper health services is still a big challenge today. Many elderly people have to walk far to the posyandu just to check blood pressure, while pregnant women have difficulty understanding how to claim BPJS. On the other hand, people generally do not realize that only with smart phones, they can access health information and check the status of BPJS membership through the JKN mobile application.
The application developed by BPJS Kesehatan actually offers many conveniences such as: checking contributions, changing health facilities, downloading online queues, and even looking for the nearest facilities. However, its existence has not fully touched the people in rural areas. A study in March 2024 in Samarinda showed that as many as 72 percent of rural communities have never used mobile JKN, although most of them (about 66 percent) actually already have a cellphone and know the name of the application.
This indicates a gap between basic knowledge and usage ability. The inhibiting factors also vary, ranging from lack of digital literacy, limited assistance in the use of applications, to the lack of socialization that actually touches the needs of residents.
However, behind the situation, small stories emerged that showed hope. One of them came from the thematic KKN activities of the Indonesian Education University (UPI) in Sukapura Village, West Java. In the program, students not only go to the field with theory, but also directly practice the assistance of residents in using the JKN mobile application. They went to the posyandu, held simple training, and assisted the elderly mothers to download the application, register themselves, and understand the features.
The surprising result, which was initially awkward, even refused, actually showed high enthusiasm and confidence after understanding that they could access health services from home. Similar stories were found in several other areas, such as KKN students from the Muhammadiyah University of Semarang, who also held counseling on the use of digital services in the assisted rural areas in Boyolali, Central Java.
There, students not only target residents, but also equip posyandu cadres to become sustainable digital literacy agents. The latest research from Nazka Amaliah et al in 2024 from the University of North Sumatra found that the important role of digital literacy in optimizing the use of JKN mobile applications. In the study, it was found that this application was proven to help speed up service access, reduce queues, and increase patient satisfaction.
However, the biggest obstacle is the lack of community understanding, especially in villages that have not been reached by training or educational programs. Another study from the Systematic Literature Review: Analysis of the Benefits of Digital Mobile JKN in Health Financing” in 2024 shows that the success of using applications is strongly influenced by the initial assistance and this is a gap that can be filled by student service activities such as KKN.
KKN activities, which have often been considered a formality or annual campus routine, have great potential as a bridge for digital transformation in the health sector. When students are present not only to teach or compile reports, but become technology facilitators and community empowerment, real changes can be felt directly.
Not only for residents, but also for the students themselves because they experience the meaning of the Tri Dharma of Higher Education: education, research, and community service. KKN stories that have an impact like this should not be an exception, but become the main focus as a national government program simultaneously.
The government through the Ministry of Education and Technology and BPJS Kesehatan should set health application literacy as a priority theme in thematic KKN program. Assistance in the use of JKN mobile, integration of students with the puskesmas program, and collaboration with posyandu cadres, can be used as a national model to strengthen digital-based health services at the rural level.
Of course, infrastructure challenges such as internet networks and limited gadgets still exist. However, the involvement of students who understand technology and has the spirit of community service can be a determinant of success in the field. This is a potential that even formal campaigns from the government do.
In order for this movement to be sustainable and not stop at KKN activities alone, a concrete solution is needed. First, it takes pre-KKN training that focuses on digital literacy and the use of public service applications such as mobile JKN. Second, local governments and universities can form the Digital Health Champions program, a small team of students and local cadres who continue to assist residents even though the KKN period has ended.
Third, BPJS Kesehatan must simplify the appearance of the application and provide a more friendly version for elderly users and rural communities. Finally, strengthening the synergy between campuses, villages, and puskesmas through a memorandum of understanding can be an opening way for sustainable technology-based health programs.
KKN is not just about recording attendance or making a final report. It is the meeting point between science and social reality. When students go directly to the countryside, help a grandmother open the BPJS application on her cellphone for the first time, or accompany a young mother to register her child with the health facility through a gadget, that’s where the meaning of the sustainability of health development is really alive.
From the posyandu that used to be synonymous with paper and manual weighing tools, now slowly moving towards the digital era thanks to the young hands of the campus. And that’s the new face of KKN today: being a small but meaningful movement, which grounds technology, and fights for justice for health services for all citizens, from cities to villages.
