Practice of food hygiene among nursing mothers attending under-five clinics in a rural community in Edo State, Nigeria

ABSTRACT

Children under the age of five are prone to foodborne diseases, resulting from poor food hygiene because of their less effective immune systems. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of food hygiene among nursing mothers attending under-five clinics.Method: This study was a descriptive cross-sectional study, involving 330 nursing mothers attending the under-five clinic in health care facilities. Data were collected using interviewer-administered questionnaires and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.A p-value < 0.05 at 95% confidence interval was considered statistically significant.Result: Eighty-two percent of the respondents had good knowledge of food hygiene; 95.2% had a good attitude and 82.7% demonstrated good practice. Knowledge on food hygiene was significantly associated with the age of the respondents (P=0.008) and their educational status (P=0.001), those with tertiary education doing better. Similarly, respondents with tertiary education had significantly better attitude (P=0.001 and practice (P=0.001). The predictors of knowledge on food hygiene were education status (odds ratio [OR] =0.249, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.126, 0.492) and occupation of the respondents (OR = 2.158, 95% CI 1.156, 4.026). Educational status was also the predictor for positive attitude (OR =0.143, 95% CI 0.031, 0.667) and practice of food hygiene (OR =0.394, 95% CI 0.210, 0.738).Conclusion: The knowledge, attitude and practice of food hygiene among the respondents was good. Predictors of knowledge included level of education and occupation. Government at the State and Local Government levels should organize regular health promotion on food hygiene.