Knowledge, attitude and practice about foodborne diseases among residents in Shanxi province

  Objective  To examine the status and influencing factors of knowledge, attitude and practice status (KAP) about foodborne diseases and among residents in Shanxi province.

  Methods  We recruited 3 500 urban and rural residents in 60 districts or counties in Shanxi province using random sampling and conducted a survey among the residents with a self-designed questionnaire on foodborne disease-related KAP from December 2017 to March 2018. Descriptive statistics and χ² test were performed in data analyses.

  Results  Among the 3 283 valid respondents, only 471 (14.3%) were aware of foodborne diseases. The awareness rate of foodborne diseases was significantly higher among the respondents aged 41 – 64 years (16.93%), with the education of master degree or above (22.86%), being divorced (19.57%),not being employees in foodstuff enterprises (21.28%), with the average monthly household income of 6 501 – 10 000 RMB yuan per capita (17.47%) (P < 0.05 for all); the awareness rate was higher among urban respondents than among rural respondents (15.40% vs. 13.04%); but gender and ethnicity had no significant impact on the awareness rate (P > 0.05). Only a few (65, 1.98%) of the respondents could recognize foodborne diseases accurately. The top three issues most concerned by the respondents when buying food were production date or expiration date (reported by 84.9% of the respondents), freshness (72.5%) and price (57.6%). The awareness about foodborne disease had little influence on the choice of dining places; but the proportion of having dinner in small restaurants or at roadside stands was 10.45% lower among the respondents with the awareness of foodborne disease than that among the respondents without the awareness and the difference was significant (P < 0.05).

  Conclusion  The awareness and recognition on foodborne diseases and practice about foodborne disease prevention are all at a low level among urban and rural residents in Shanxi province; the results suggest that effective measures need to be implemented by relevant government agencies.