title: Evaluation of a health education intervention on knowledge and attitudes of food handlers working in a medical college in Delhi, India.
abstract: The present study assessed change in knowledge, attitudes, and self-reported hand-washing practices of 136 food handlers 3 months after providing them health education using posters and interactive sessions using a flip chart. There was a significant change in the proportion of study participants who named food borne or waterborne diseases, including gastroenteritis (79.4% to 91.9%), worm infestation (39.0% to 55.9%), cholera (16.2% to 42.7%), and typhoid (9.6% to 28.7%). Significant increase in knowledge about hand hygiene measures, namely, washing hands before handling food (23.5% to 65.4%) and keeping nails cut and clean (8.1% to 57.4%), was observed. Baseline self-reported hand-washing practices revealed low figures for washing hands after micturition (82.4%) and smoking (52.8%) and consistent use of soap at the workplace (24.3%) and after micturition (14.0%), which improved after health education but not to the desired extent. Findings highlight the importance of providing health education in food and personal hygiene to food handlers and incorporating the same in existing guidelines for food establishments laid down by civic agencies in Delhi and elsewhere.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, India. drrahulmalhotra@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Rahul
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Malhotra
authors.forename: Panna
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lal
authors.forename: S Krishna
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Prakash
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Daga
authors.forename: Jugal
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kishore
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005511:Food Handling; D006235:Hand Disinfection; D006266:Health Education; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D006920:Hygiene / Q000193:education*; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D012499:Sanitation