Investigating the Knowledge, Attitude, and Educational Needs of Health Workers in the Field of Food Health, in the Villages of Sirjan, Iran, in 2020

The health of food products is one of the indicators of community health, and health workers provide numerous services in this regard. Therefore, it seems necessary to provide education based on the current situation and existing educational needs. The present study was conducted to investigate the knowledge, attitude, and educational needs of health workers in the field of food health, in the villages of Sirjan, Iran, in 2020.

This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 77 health workers in the villages of Sirjan in 2020 by census method. Two questionnaires were used to collect the required data, including a questionnaire to measure knowledge and attitude and a researcher-made questionnaire to assess educational needs. Data were analyzed in SPSS version 24 using descriptive statistics.

The mean age of the participants was 23.9±84.37 years. Most of the subjects (67.5%) were female, and 87% of them were married. The mean scores of knowledge and attitude were 7.33±1.03 and 28.23±5.33, respectively, which indicated the average level of knowledge and attitude of health workers in this field. The total mean score of educational needs was estimated at 134.33±3.42. The mean scores of subscales were obtained as follows: personal hygiene (19.29±3.18), kitchenware hygiene (18.75±3.42), building hygiene (45.70±8.99), and food hygiene (51.10±9.15).

The knowledge and attitude of rural health workers of Sirjan in the field of food health were moderate and their educational needs were high. Therefore, it is essential to provide necessary training in the field of food hygiene to improve their knowledge and attitude and meet their educational needs.