INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INDONESIAN STUDIES SPRING 2016
Biodata : Claudya Dhaja is a Bachelors candidate at the University of Nusa Cendana who was also a research assistant in this project . She assisted in the editing process . Her area of study is veterinary medicine – her contact email is claudyadhaja @ gmail . com
Biodata : Ananias Besh holds a Bachelors degree in English Education from Artha Wacana Christian University in Kupang . He was born and raised in rural South Central Timor in kecamatan Niki-Niki . Ananias helped as field work assistant . His contact email is ananiasbees @ ymail . com
Acknowledgments
The authors deeply appreciate the comments provided by the reviewers whose feedback and advice was adopted to make some substantial improvements on this article . The work of IJIS head editor , Yacinta Kurniasih , whose tireless efforts have made this publication possible . Thanks also to editors Matthew Piscioneri and Elisabet Titik Murtisari for their edits . Gratitude is also felt towards IJIS for creating a platform which enables us to form these multi-disciplinary teams of researchers from both Indonesia and Australia . Thanks should also be shared with the staff of the Australia Indonesia Partnership for Maternal and Neonatal Health ( AIPMNH ). This research was further enabled through the generous help of the communities of the villages of Nusa , Supul and Boti and the town of Soe who welcomed us into their homes and shared their stories and experiences with us .
Abstract
Using data from focus discussion groups gathered through field work , this paper examines key environmental health conditions across three specific rural and remote village communities in South Central Timor . Through a mixed methods approach , this study attempts to shed light on identified information gaps relating to maternal and neonatal health . The study adopts an environmental health framework which examines five main factors : these factors include access to clean water , draining , sanitation , management of rubbish , as well as access to roads and health facilities . Local community focus discussion groups across the three sample villages all identified access to clean water as the most important factor in relation to public health . Adequate draining was commonly ranked second most important largely due to the environmental health impacts of floods and contamination of water sources . Through a participatory research approach , the use of the traditional grass thatch hut granary or ume kbubu was also identified as a key focal point of this study . The process of panggang , a customary resting process for mothers and newborns within the ume kbubu was examined . The study found that in the past , the use of the ume kbubu as a resting place for mothers and their newborns has provided warmth and traditional medicinal benefits . However , the effects of the fire and smoke inside the wellinsulated ume kbubu may also be perceived as a risk to maternal and neonatal health . No qualitative links were drawn between the use of the ume kbubu and perceptions of adverse health outcomes among community groups . The authors recommend further more detailed empirical investigations of environmental health conditions and the use of the ume kbubu in maternal and neonatal health in more remote villages .
Keywords : Environmental health , South Central Timor , maternal and neonatal health , ume kbubu , panggang , Dawan .
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