Assessment of Knowledge and Reported Practices of Mothers Regarding Food Handling Among Their Preschool Children in AbuTig District.

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Nursing Specialist at Abutig Central Hospital Assiut City, Egypt.

2 Professor of Community Health Nursing Assiut University, Egypt.

3 Assistant Professor of Community Health Nursing Assiut University, Egypt.

Abstract

Children are at higher risk for food borne illnesses than adults. Aim: This study aimed to assess knowledge and reported practice of mothers with pre school children regarding food handling. Subjects and Methods: Descriptive cross sectional design used in this study. It was conducted at 4 villages in Abou-tig district selected by stratified random sample (Abu-tig, Duena, Elnekhela and Baker). The sample consisted of 787 mothers with preschool children. Data were collected within six months Tools: two tools were utilized. First tool: interview questionnaire sheet for assessing Socio demographic characteristics, home environment and mother's knowledge about food handling. Second tool: was used to assess the reported practices of mothers about food handling. Results: showed that 30.37 ± 6.58 were the mean ± SD of age of the studied mothers, Also 43.3% of mothers had fair level of knowledge and 67.2% had satisfactory level of practice. Conclusion: It was concluded that less than half of mothers had fair level of knowledge about food handling. Recommendations: Educational programs to upgrade the level of mother`s knowledge and practices toward food handling.

Keywords