Current state of COVID-19 knowledge, attitude, practices, and associated factors among Bangladeshi food handlers from various food industries

Abstract

While people around the world are terrified of the global pandemic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and no registered vaccine is out yet, undertaking preventive safety measures are said to be the only way to stay away from it. People’s adherence to these measures is broadly dependent on their knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP). The present study was designed to evaluate workers’ knowledge, attitude, and practices from a food industry in Dhaka, Bangladesh, towards COVID-19. A number of 155 respondents took part in this online-based study. The information was acquired online from the participants through a questionnaire prepared in Google form. With a correct response rate of about 90% on average (knowledge 89.7%, attitude 93%, practices 88.2%), the participants showed a good level of KAP regarding COVID-19. However, education and working experiences had a significant association with the total KAP scores (p < 0.05). Further KAP studies in different generic food industries in Bangladesh should be carried out to bring a more precise picture for ensuring the level of workplace and worker’s safety.

Dairy industry employee knowledge, attitudes and practices in response to COVID -19 policies in Jordan

“…In terms of the total KAP, 35.0% of the respondents demonstrated an adequate KAP score regarding COVID-19 properties (Table 2). Although the same scale was used, Jubayer et al. (2021a, b) reported greater knowledge (89.7%), attitude (93.0%) and practices (88.2%) scores of workers in the food industry toward COVID-19 than reported in the current study.…”

“…The early stage of the pandemic was surrounded with many uncertainties regarding knowledge and practice. Similarly, Jubayer et al. (2021a, b) reported more than 90% of the respondents in their study acknowledged that workers should immediately report any illness or symptoms to management and avoid coming to work.…”

“…In-depth understanding of the knowledge levels, attitudes, and behaviours of the respondents during this pandemic will help decision makers assess the situation in case of any future outbreaks/pandemics. The readiness of the food industry to combat COVID-19 has been evaluated in a few studies (Dyal, 2020; Jubayer et al. , 2021a, b; Li et al.…”

“…Dairy industry workers in Jordan have adequate level of knowledge, fair attitude, and exhibit desirable practices concerning COVID-19. This hypothesis was developed keeping previous literature into perspective where food industry workers in India, Jordan and Bangladesh were observed to have a good degree of KAP regarding COVID-19 (Jubayer et al. , 2021a, b; Kannu et al.…”

“…, 2020). In a study on Bangladesh food workers, attending primary school was associated with 7.8 times more likelihood of higher knowledge about COVID-19 as compared to those who did not attend school (Jubayer et al. , 2021a, b).…”