Status of food safety knowledge, attitude, and practices of caregivers of children in northern Uganda

Abstract

The safety of homemade weaning foods in low- and middle-income countries is of great concern as rural households have limited access to standardized commercial weaning foods. In the Acholi subregion of Uganda, complementary foods are locally produced. However, there is limited information on the Food safety knowledge (FSK), food safety attitude (FSA), and food hygiene practices (FHP) of the caregivers. This study examined food safety knowledge, attitude, and practices of the caregivers of children 6-23 months of age in Amuru and Nwoya districts, Northern Uganda, between March 2019 and June 2019. A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 180 caregivers. Data were collected using semi-structured questionnaires and focus group discussions and analyzed using descriptive statistics, multivariate binary logistic regression, and thematic content analysis. Caregivers had sufficient FSK (74.1%) and positive FSA (68.1%). However, only 17.6% of them adhered to FHP. Frequency of food safety training (p = .041) and households with children who suffered from foodborne illness (p = .001) significantly predicted FSK. Conversely, both FSK and FSA were significantly predicted by gender roles in decision-making on household income (p = .006) and households with older children (p = .041). A significant positive correlation was observed between FSK and FSA (r = .406, p = .000). However, major barriers to adherence to FHP were inadequate sanitation facilities and caregiver's workload. The overall nontranslation of sufficient FSK and positive FSA into proper FHP calls for future intervention to harness the sociodemographic factors that influence FSK and FSA and address the barriers to FHP among caregivers.

Keywords: behavior; caregivers; complementary foods; food hygiene; food safety; homemade.

FIGURE 1

Distribution of food safety knowledge, attitude, and level of adherence to food hygiene practices among caregivers based on a sample size of 116 caregivers. A caregiver is the mother/father of the child or legal guardian who takes care of the child in the absence of the mother/father.

FIGURE 2

Detailed porridge production process. The porridge was made from three ingredients: millet (Eleusine coracana), sesame (Sesamum indicum), and soybeans (Glycine max).