Knowledge, attitude and practice of women living in Yazd, Iran regarding food poisoning

Haji Mohammadi, Bahador; Ehrampoush, Mohammad Hassan; Khalatbari, Sepideh; Amiri, Asiyeh; Gerayllo, Sakineh; Hosseini, Motahareh

Volume 12, Issue 3 (1-2015) sjsph 2015, 12(3): 81-95 | Back to browse issues page

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Haji Mohammadi B, Ehrampoush M H, Khalatbari S, Amiri A, Gerayllo S, Hosseini M. Knowledge, attitude and practice of women living in Yazd, Iran regarding food poisoning. sjsph 2015; 12 (3) :81-95
URL: http://sjsph.tums.ac.ir/article-1-5194-en.html

Knowledge, attitude and practice of women living in Yazd, Iran regarding food poisoning

Bahador Haji Mohammadi¹

, Mohammad Hassan Ehrampoush²

, Sepideh Khalatbari ^*

³, Asiyeh Amiri⁴

, Sakineh Gerayllo⁵

, Motahareh Hosseini⁶

1- Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Research Center for Molecular Identification of Food Hazards and Department of Food Hygiene and Safety, Faculty of Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
2- Ph.D. Professor, Department of Environmental health, Faculty of Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
3- MSc. Student, Department of Food Hygiene and Safety, Faculty of Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran , skhalatbary@yahoo.com
4- MSc. Student, Department of Food Hygiene and Safety, Faculty of Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
5- MSc. Department of Health Education, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
6- BSc. Student, Department of Environmental health, Faculty of Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran

Abstract: (8149 Views)

Background and Aim: Food poisoning occurs under circumstances where proper action for protecting foods from microbial contamination and chemical toxins is not taken. In the Iranian society women have an important role in preparing food in the home. The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of women living in Yazd, Iran regarding food poisoning.

Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study. Data were collected through interviewing 266 women living in Yazd, selected randomly by calling at their homes. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 18. The minimum and maximum accessible scores for knowledge, attitude and practice were 0 and 15, 15 and 45 and 0 and 20, respectively.

Results: The mean (± SD) score of knowledge, attitude and practice was 11.13 ± 2.54, 39.98 ± 4.52 and 17.73 ± 1.96, respectively. Further analysis of the data showed that 63.2% of the women had no knowledge about safety of refrigerated cooked foods and 41.4% had an erroneous attitude about fruit and vegetable cleaning, believing that merely cleaning them would make them safe to eat. As regards practice, 68.8 % of the women prepared and ate semi-cooked eggs.

Conclusion: Yazdi women lack a sound knowledge about (a). some agents of food poisoning such as, for example, Salmonella and (2). food cooking and preserving temperatures. It is recommended to plan and execute educational programs aiming at promoting knowledge and improving practice of women in these areas.