Ali Md Taif, Mahmud Sultan, Mohsin Md, Mian Ashraf Uddin, Islam Ariful, Ahmed Fee Faysal
University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh.
International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR, B), Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh.
Heliyon. 2023 Mar 24;9(4):e14762. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e14762. eCollection 2023 Apr.
Foodborne diseases are a preventable but under-reported public health issue. These illnesses are a public health concern and contribute significantly to healthcare costs. People must understand how their knowledge, attitudes, and practices affect food safety and how they can reduce the risk of foodborne illness. This study aimed at investigating the current situation of knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward food safety among Bangladeshi students and identifying the determinants of having adequate knowledge, favorable attitudes, and good practices.
The research is based on a cross-sectional anonymous online survey that took place from January 1st to February 15th, 2022. Participants in this survey had to be at least 8th-grade students enrolled in Bangladeshi institutions. Upon description of the study's aim, the questionnaire's concept, assurances regarding respondents' confidentiality, and the study's voluntary nature, informed consent was taken from each participant before starting the survey. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, and logistic regression were used to explore the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of students and identify factors affecting them using the statistical software STATA.
A total of 777 students participated in the study, the majority of them were male (63.96%) and aged between 18 and 25 years (60%). Almost half of the respondents were at the undergraduate level and less than half of the participants (45%) lived with their families. Among the participants, around 47% had adequate knowledge, 87% had favorable attitudes, and only 52% had good practices toward food safety. Female students, students having a food safety course/training, and students whose mothers were educated had significantly higher knowledge of food safety. Besides, students at higher education levels, students having a food safety course/training, and students with educated mothers displayed significantly higher odds of possessing favorable attitudes toward food safety. Similarly, female students, having a food safety course/training, students at higher education levels, and students with educated mothers were significantly associated with good practices toward food safety among students.
The study shows that students in Bangladesh lack knowledge of food safety and have poor practices toward food safety. For the student population of Bangladesh, more systematic and targeted food safety education and training are required.
食源性疾病是一个可预防但报告不足的公共卫生问题。这些疾病是公共卫生关注的问题，对医疗成本有重大影响。人们必须了解他们的知识、态度和行为如何影响食品安全，以及他们如何降低食源性疾病的风险。本研究旨在调查孟加拉国学生对食品安全的知识、态度和行为现状，并确定拥有足够知识、积极态度和良好行为的决定因素。
该研究基于2022年1月1日至2月15日进行的一项横断面匿名在线调查。参与此次调查的必须是就读于孟加拉国机构的至少八年级学生。在描述研究目的、问卷概念、关于受访者保密性的保证以及研究的自愿性质后，在开始调查前从每位参与者处获得知情同意。使用描述性统计、卡方检验和逻辑回归来探索学生的知识、态度和行为，并使用统计软件STATA确定影响它们的因素。
共有777名学生参与了该研究，其中大多数为男性（63.96%），年龄在18至25岁之间（60%）。几乎一半的受访者为本科水平，不到一半的参与者（45%）与家人同住。在参与者中，约47%拥有足够的知识，87%持有积极态度，而只有52%在食品安全方面有良好行为。女学生、上过食品安全课程/接受过食品安全培训的学生以及母亲受过教育的学生对食品安全的了解明显更高。此外，高等教育水平的学生、上过食品安全课程/接受过食品安全培训的学生以及母亲受过教育的学生对食品安全持有积极态度的几率明显更高。同样，女学生、上过食品安全课程/接受过食品安全培训的学生、高等教育水平的学生以及母亲受过教育的学生与学生在食品安全方面的良好行为显著相关。
该研究表明，孟加拉国的学生缺乏食品安全知识，在食品安全方面行为不佳。对于孟加拉国的学生群体，需要更系统、有针对性的食品安全教育和培训。
