Measuring hand hygiene practice: Comparison between self-reported and direct observation among food truck vendors in Klang Valley, Malaysia

Abstract

Contamination of food by food handlers contributes to vast food outbreaks due to the transmission of pathogens from the food handlers' hands. Thus, hand hygiene is a great manner to reduce the infections from harmful pathogens. The aims of this study were to assess the hand hygiene practice among food truck vendors based on a self-reported questionnaire and direct observation. A cross-sectional study was conducted among food truck vendors at Klang Valley. The self-reported questionnaire and direct observation were used to identify the hand hygiene practice and the significant difference of outcomes between these two instruments. Cohen kappa reveals a poor agreement between self–reported questionnaire and direct observation on hand hygiene practice among respondents. The mean difference on hand hygiene practices for the self-reported questionnaire and direct observation among the food handlers were 17.77±3.15 and 11.45±3.00 respectively, where a significant difference was observed (p=0.003). The results revealed that over-reporting errors should be considered when analyzing and interpreting the data derived from the self-reported survey. The outcome also indicated that food safety education and enforcement is necessary for promoting food safety practice.