Awareness regarding Food Poisoning among the Mothers of Under 5 Year Children Attending at Teaching Hospital, Chitwan

Food poisoning affects the public health and the economy which will have negative impact and can cause bigger economical losses and may result in death. Food poisoning is one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality. Globally, almost 1 in 10 people fall ill every year from eating contaminated food and 420, 000 die. Especially children under 5 year of age are at particularly high risk, with 11, 25, 000 children dying from food borne disease every year South-East Asia region has the second highest burden of food borne diseases, after the African Region. More than 150 million people living in South-East Asia region fall ill and 175, 000 die from food borne diseases every year. Among them 60 million children under the age of 5 fall ill and 50, 000 die from food borne diseases in the South-East Asia region every year. The study aimed at identifying the awareness regarding food poisoning among the mothers of under 5 year children attending at teaching hospital, Chitwan. Non-probability purposive sampling technique was used to collect data by using structured interview schedule related to food poisoning. Data was collected in 3 months duration from March 15 to June 14, 2018 in the Pediatric Outpatient Department of Chitwan Medical College, Teaching Hospital. The results found that more than half (56 %) of mothers were aware regarding food poisoning. Study showed a significant association between level of awareness and education level of mother (p= 0.006).