Dairy industry employee knowledge, attitudes and practices in response to COVID -19 policies in Jordan
ISSN: 0007-070X
Article publication date: 22 August 2022
Issue publication date: 11 April 2023
Abstract
Purpose
This study examined the level of knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of Jordanian dairy employees about coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) characteristics and the effect of precautionary measures on food safety risk during the pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional study was conducted between Dec 17, 2020 and Feb 22, 2021, involving a total of 428 participants across 34 random chosen dairy facilities in Jordan. KAP related to COVID-19 were measured by 46 items, while 13 items were used to examine perceived notions regarding COVID-19 precautionary measures on food safety.
Findings
The results indicated that 32.2% of the respondents had sufficient knowledge, 60.3% had a good attitude, and 27.1% followed correct practices concerning COVID-19. Moreover, female respondents had higher total KAP scores of COVID-19 characteristics than males. Furthermore, older and more experienced respondents had higher total KAP scores than younger respondents. This study also observed that the total KAP scores were not affected by education, marital status, and job position. Characteristics and measures taken by the dairy industry were at large significantly associated with (p < 0.05) knowledge and practice of employees about COVID-19 attributes. Results of this study suggested that Jordanian dairy workers were not adequately aware about COVID-19.
Originality/value
No such study on dairy workers has been conducted previously to the best of the authors’ knowledge. Moreover, studies which analyse the association of industry response and characteristics on the KAP of employees are very limited.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the participants of the study for their cooperation.
Citation
Osaili, T., Al-Nabulsi, A.A., Albluwi, B.I.H., Olaimat, A., Shaker Obaid, R., Taha, S., Ayyash, M. and Holley, R. (2023), "Dairy industry employee knowledge, attitudes and practices in response to COVID -19 policies in Jordan", British Food Journal, Vol. 125 No. 5, pp. 1559-1578. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-02-2022-0132
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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