title: An epidemiological study on the predictors of health status of food handlers in food establishments of teaching hospitals of North India.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (USDHHS-CDC 1996) revealed that the outbreaks of food borne diseases include inadequate cooking, heating, or re-heating of foods consumption of food from unsafe sources, cooling food inappropriately and allowing too much of a time lapse. As we all know that the food handlers have been working in various types of community kitchen and their health status can affect the status of food hygiene which can lead to contamination of foods attributing to acute gastroenteritis and food poisoning in various subgroups of the population e.g., medical/dental/nursing students. The background characteristics of these food handlers may have important role to affect health status of these handlers.
  
  
  METHODS
  The indexed study was carried out among the food handlers working in the food establishments the 5 teaching hospitals of Bareilly city in U.P. India during one year i.e., from August 2013 to July 2014. The survey method using schedule was conducted to get information about the background characteristics and food handlers and each food handler was examined clinically for assessing health status. Chi-Square test was used as test of significance and regression analysis was also done to nullifying the effect of confounders.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The health status of the mess workers was found to be significantly associated with use of gloves, hand washing after toilet and hand washing before cooking and serving food.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The rationale of this study was that though many studies have been carried out to show the health status of the food handlers and their background characteristics, no study has highlighted the association of these background characteristics and personal hygiene practices with the health status of food handlers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Rohilkhand Medical College, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Arun
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Rohilkhand Medical College, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Rashmi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Katyal
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Rohilkhand Medical College, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Varsha
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Chaudhary
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Rohilkhand Medical College, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Kusum
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Narula
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Rohilkhand Medical College, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Deepak
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Upadhayay
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Rohilkhand Medical College, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Shailendra Pratap
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Singh
keywords: Food establishments; food handlers; health status; mess workers; personal hygiene practices