Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Food Hygiene among Food Vendors in Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria

• 作者: Anthony C. Iwu Chukwuma B. Duru Emmanuel Ndukwu Henry N. Chineke Ikechi Ohale Irene A. Merenu Kenechi A. Uwakwe Kevin C. Diwe Uche R. Oluoha Ugochukwu C. Madubueze
• 来源期刊: 职业病与环境医学(英文)
• 学科: 医学
• 关键词: KNOWLEDGE ATTITUDE Practice FOOD HYGIENE FOOD Vendors Owerri NIGERIA
• 年，卷（期）: 2017,（1）
• 页码范围: 11-25
• 页数: 15页
• 分类号: R73

摘要

Background: Food vendors play a critical food safety role in the “farm to plate” continuum that is necessary for the prevention and control of food borne diseases and therefore, any lack of its understanding by the food vendors poses a serious challenge to food safety. Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitude and hygienic practices of food vendors in Owerri town of Imo State, Nigeria. Methods: The study was a Cross-Sectional descriptive design that used a proportionate convenience sampling technique to select 200 food vendors from the three Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Owerri town. Data were collected using a pretested semi-structured interviewer administered questionnaire. Descriptive analyses were done with frequencies and summary statistics. Chi square statistics were computed to determine significant relationships and p value was set at 0.05 significant level. Results: While a majority of the respondents had a good level of knowledge (81%) and positive attitude (71%) about food hygiene, only 37% of the respondents had a good level of hygienic practice. It was revealed that 32% and 46% of the respondents received training on food hygiene and environmental health worker inspection respectively. It was also revealed that, there were statistically significant relationships between knowledge (p = 0.001), attitude (p = 0.000), formal training on food hygiene (p = 0.000) and the level of food hygienic practices. Conclusion: The public health management of food vending services should involve the development of strategies that will equip them with the necessary knowledge and skills to provide vending services in a hygienic and safe manner.