"Food safety knowledge attitude and practices of oncology nurses, in Lebanese hospitals”

Abstract

Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment, have a higher risk to foodborne infections as compared to other populations. Oncology nurses, having a direct significant contact with these patients, could be the first information source concerning food safety and play a pivotal role in reducing these risks. This study aims to assess the level of knowledge regarding food safety among oncology nurses, as well as their attitudes and practices in private hospitals in Lebanon. An observational cross-sectional study was carried out, using a self-administered questionnaire, recruiting 134 oncology nurses working in 18 different hospitals located in Mount Lebanon (n=11) and Beirut (n=7). The mean age of the recruited nurses was 30+ 8 years, 84% were females and 83% had a bachelor’s in nursing. Overall, they scored 76%, 95% and 86.9% on the knowledge, attitude, and practices questions, respectively. Knowledge scores were higher among nurses holding a graduate degree (mean= 85; p<0.05), and those who attended a training course (mean=79; p<0.05). Knowledge scores were significantly higher when the information was obtained via TV (p=0.01), conferences (p<0.001), and audio (p=0.01). Attitude scores of nurses who read brochures were higher (p<0.001). Attending conferences on food safety showed statistically significant effect on better practice scores (p<0.001). Accordingly, the findings highlight the need to develop standardized food safety curriculum and training necessary to allow oncology nurses to contribute to the education of cancer patients and decrease their risk of foodborne infection.