KNOWLEDGE ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE TOWARDS THE CAMPAIGN 'EAT HOT FOOD, USE SERVING SPOON, AND ALWAYS WASH YOUR HANDS' AMONG FOOD CONSUMERS IN CHULALONGKORN UNIVERSITY'S CANTEENS BANGKOK THAILAND

Abstract

The aim of this research was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice towards the campaign “Eat hot food, use serving spoon, and always wash your hands” among food consumers in Chulalongkorn University’s canteens, Bangkok, Thailand. This study was a cross-sectional survey. Four hundred and thirty subjects with at least 18 years old were recruited in this study and a structured questionnaire was use to gathers the data. Chi-square and Fisher’s Exact Test were used to analyze the association between independent and dependent variables. The results indicated that 79.8% of respondents had “high level of knowledge”, 58.4% had “neutral attitude”, and 71.2% had “fair practice”. In addition, the knowledge was associated significantly with occupation (p=0.015), income per month (p=0.009), and ever hearing about the campaign (p=0.012). The attitude was associated significantly with age (p=0.009), education (p<0.001), occupation (p<0.001), income per month (p<0.001), expenditure per month (p<0.001), and ever hearing about the campaign (p=0.004). The practice was associated significantly with age (p<0.001), education (p=0.017), occupation (p<0.001), income per month (p<0.001), and expenditure per month (p=0.001). Moreover, there was significant association between knowledge and attitude (p<0.001), and attitude and practice (p<0.001), while there was no significant association between knowledge and practice (p=0.488) of respondents about the campaign. In conclusion, this study should be emphasized on health education program concerning about food- and water- born communicable diseases to improve consumers’ knowledge. Furthermore, health promotion activities especially using serving spoon correctly and washing hands thoroughly should be arranged to create good attitude and practice among consumers at Chulalongkorn University.