Evaluation of food hygiene knowledge among postgraduate students at High Institute of Public Health

ABSTRACT

This study was carried out among 55 postgraduate students at the high institute of public health, representing different professions, levels of perception and experience. These students attended a food hygiene course, over a period of three months. The course was composed of lectures which covered different subjects related to food hygiene. To evaluate the food hygiene knowledge among these students and to assess the effectiveness of the course on the improvement of their knowledge a specially designed test questionnaire was prepared and used before [pre-test] and after [post-test] the course. These questions [30] were subdivided into five groups so that each group covers one of the five subareas of food hygiene, namely; sources of food contamination, food poisoning, food spoilage, food handling and preparation, and elementary microbiology. The effect of the course was examined through testing the differences in the pre and post test average scores for each of the five subareas as well as the overall course [total]. Moreover, stepwise multiple regression analysis was used to determine the effect independant variables [age, sex, work; marital status; study degree] on the students achievement. The results indicated that the course resulted in a significant improvement in the overall food hygiene knowledge of the students as well as for all of its the five subareas. The improvement ranged between 27.4% [food handling and preparation area] and 84.1% [elementary microbiology area]. Woek of the student was the most important independent variable affecting significantly the student's achievement with better achievement among medicals than nonmedicals