Effectiveness of Planned Teaching Programme on Knowledge Regarding Food Hygiene among Food Handlers in Selected Hostels at Bengaluru

Introduction

Food is a potential source of infection and is liable to contamination by microorganisms at any point during food processing from the producer to the consumer. Food hygiene in its widest sense implies hygiene in the production, handling, distribution and serving of all types of food. The primary aim of food hygiene is to prevent food poisoning and other food borne illnesses. Food safety legislation needs to be improved, as public health education about food hygiene, safe food storage and preparation is needed. In industrialized countries, a few factors are responsible for most cases of food borne diseases. Several food borne-disease outbreaks have been reported to have been associated with poor personal hygiene of people handling foodstuffs. Food handlers have a major responsibility in the prevention of contamination associated with food spoilage and food poisoning during the production and distribution of food.

Statement of the problem

“Effectiveness of planned teaching programme (PTP) on knowledge regarding food hygiene among food handlers in selected hostels at Bengaluru.”

Objectives of the study

1. To assess the knowledge on food hygiene among food handlers.

2. To evaluate the effectiveness of planned teaching programme on food hygiene among food handlers.

3. To find the association between the knowledge scores of food handlers with selected demographic variables.

Research Hypotheses

H1 : There is a significant difference between pre-test and post-test knowledge scores.

H2 : There is significant association between knowledge scores with selected demographic variables.

Methodology

Quasi-experimental one group pre-test and post-test design was adopted for the present study.

Setting

Setting is a physical location in which data collection takes place in a study. Based on the geographical proximity, feasibility of conducting the study and availability of the sample, the present study was conducted in Kuruhinashetty, Devanga, & Puttanna Chetty Community Hostels, Bengaluru.

Population

The population referred to as the target population, represents the entire group or all the elements like individuals or objects that meet certain criteria for inclusion in the study. The total population of the present study comprised of all the food handlers working in community hostels, Bengaluru.

Sample

Food handlers working in selected hostels, Bengaluru.

Sample size

The sample size of the present study consisted of 60 food handlers working in the community hostels, Bengaluru.

Sampling technique

Sampling refers to the process of selecting a group of people or other elements for conducting a study. The sampling technique adopted for the study was a convenient sampling method through non-probability sampling approach for the selection of subjects.

Section 1: Assessment of demographic variables of the food handlers

Section 2: Assessment of level of knowledge regarding food hygiene among food handlers

The above table shows that level of knowledge regarding food hygiene among food handlers before and after the PTP. Before PTP, majority 45 (75%) exhibited moderate knowledge, 15 (25%) had inadequate knowledge, and none of them had adequate knowledge regarding food hygiene. After the administration of PTP, 59 (98.3 %) had moderate knowledge, and 1 (1.66%) had inadequate knowledge, while none exhibited adequate knowledge.

Table 2.2. revealed mean, SD and improvement of knowledge score on food hygiene among food handlers before and after the PTP. The majority of sample 4 (57.1%) had knowledge about food handlers and food hygiene, 5.2 (52%) samples had knowledge on food borne diseases and its prevention, 6.1 (46.9%) had knowledge about food handling. The overall mean knowledge score of the sample was 15.4 (51.3%) regarding food hygiene before PTP.

The mean knowledge score showed statistically significant improvement after the administration of the planned teaching programme. The maximum score 5.5 (78.5%) was observed in the aspect of knowledge about food handlers and food hygiene, 6.9 (69%) samples had knowledge on food borne diseases and its prevention, 8.6 (66.1%) had knowledge about food handling. The overall improvement in mean knowledge score after the PTP was 21.1 (70.3%).

The Table 2.3 depicts the mean, mean percentage and standard deviation of pre-and post-test levels of knowledge regarding food hygiene among food handlers. It revealed that the subjects demonstrated enhancement in mean score 5.7 on knowledge of various aspects of food hygiene with standard deviation of 1.7 and mean percentage 19%.

Conclusion

Food safety is part of everyone’s responsibility. The person who receives food must make sure it is safe. The person who prepares food must make sure it is safe.

The person who serves food must make sure it is safe. Together, you can protect your consumers and upkeep the good name of your establishment. Consumers are very much concerned about food safety. National survey reported that consumers think food safety is even more important than food quality. They want to be sure they are getting safe food everywhere they eat. Paying attention to food safety is a good way to keep consumers coming back and also helps both the food handlers and people to be free from food borne diseases.

The present study assessed the level of knowledge regarding food hygiene among food handlers before and after the PTP. Majority of the sample possessed moderate knowledge 45 (75%), 15 (25%) had inadequate knowledge and none of them had adequate knowledge regarding food hygiene before the administration of PTP. After the administration of PTP, 59 (98.3%) had moderate knowledge, 1 (1.66%) had inadequate knowledge, and none had adequate knowledge.

Hence, it can be concluded that the planned teaching programme is an effective, appropriate and feasible method which can be used in the food handlers to motivate and help acquire the knowledge in the aspect of food hygiene.