How common were safe food-handling practices among women surveyed in Gondar, and what factors were associated with them?

Details

Foodborne illness poses a serious public health threat in low-income countries. This study assessed household food-handling practices among adult women in Gondar City, Northwest Ethiopia, and examined associated factors.

A community-based cross-sectional survey was conducted from May 20 to June 19, 2024, with 636 women randomly selected to participate. Researchers collected socio-demographic, behavioral, and environmental data using a standardized, pretested questionnaire. They created composite indices for knowledge, attitude, and practice, defining scores of 70% or higher as good performance.

Both binary and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed. For model assessment, the Hosmer-Lemeshow test yielded a p-value of 0.72, and the variance inflation factor was less than 2.5.

Overall, 53.8% of participants handled food safely (95% confidence interval [CI]: 49.9–57.6). Good practice was significantly associated with higher education (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 4.22, 95% CI: 2.11–8.44), marriage (AOR: 4.25, 95% CI: 2.05–8.79), good knowledge (AOR: 2.30, 95% CI: 1.49–3.54), a positive attitude (AOR: 2.52, 95% CI: 1.23–5.16), and access to proper food-handling information (AOR: 3.25, 95% CI: 1.90–5.56).

Although more than half had good food-handling practices, the study concluded that substantial gaps remained in knowledge, attitudes, and environmental conditions. The researchers suggested improving women's access to food-handling information and strengthening behavioral change interventions.