Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Food Handlers in a Hospital Kitchen- an Administrator’s Perspective

Abstract

Hospital food hygiene plays an important role in patients’ health. Studies have proved that improper practices and lack of knowledge are major contributing factors of foodborne diseases. This study has been conducted with an aim to determine knowledge, attitude and practices of hospital kitchen staff towards safe food handling in a tertiary care teaching hospital in Pune. A cross sectional study was conducted in the central kitchen of the hospital.Data was collected from 20 food handlers (the entire staff working in the central kitchen) through a pre- validated questionnaire. Data was collected in May- June 2022. Most of food handlers had studied up till high school and their mean age group was 36.2 years. The average work experience of respondents was 16.5 years. The result of the questionnaire showed that majority of food handlers have a fair knowledge in safe food handling procedures, have a good attitude and practices. However, the results also strongly emphasize the need of more frequent food hygiene training of hospital food handlers. It also suggests that non-food handlers such as the nursing staff or kitchen supervisor should also be involved in the training. Some aspects of food handlers’ safety behaviour also needs to be emphasized.