Older Adults' Women Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices towards Food Safety in the Domestic Kitchen

Background: Food safety is a fundamental component of sustainable development and public health, particularly for older adults who are more vulnerable to adverse outcomes of unsafe food handling. Aim of the study: Assess older adults' women knowledge, attitudes and practices towards food safety in the domestic kitchen. Subjects and Methods: Research design: descriptive research. Setting: The study was conducted at Al-Khudariyyah village at Sharkia governorate, which was randomly selected by using multistage cluster sampling technique. Subjects: A purposive sample of 160 rural older women was recruited. Tools of data collection: Tool I: structured interview schedule composed of three parts; demographic data, health profile, and food safety profile, Tool II: food safety knowledge instrument, and Tool III: food safety attitudes and self-reported practices questionnaire. Results: The study revealed that 75.6% and 56.9% of the studied older women had an unsatisfactory knowledge level and negative attitude towards food safety in the domestic kitchen, respectively. As well, 66.9% of the studied older women had an inadequate level of self-reported practices regarding food safety in the domestic kitchen. Conclusion: The study found that older women had unsatisfactory food safety knowledge, negative attitudes, and inadequate food safety practices in domestic kitchen. Recommendations: Developing evidence-based educational programs to improve knowledge, foster positive attitudes, and enhance adequate self-reported practices among older women towards food safety in the domestic kitchen.