Abstract
Cancer patients receiving treatment are at a higher risk for the acquisition of foodborne illness than the general population. Despite this, few studies have assessed the food safety behaviors, attitudes, risk perceptions, and food acquisition behaviors of this population. Further, no studies have, yet, quantified the food safety knowledge of these patients. This study aims to fill these gaps in the literature by administering a thorough questionnaire to cancer patients seeking treatment in three hospitals in a Midwest, metropolitan area. Demographic, treatment, food security, and food safety knowledge, behaviors, attitudes, risk perceptions, and acquisition information was assessed for 288 patients. Specific unsafe attitudes, behaviors, and acquisition practices were identified. Most notable is that 49.4% (n = 139) of participants were not aware that they were at increased risk of foodborne infection, due to their disease and treatment. Additionally, though patients exhibited a general understanding of food safety, the participant average for correctly answering the food safety questions was 74.77% ± 12.24%. The section concerning food storage showed lowest participant knowledge, with an average score of 69.53% ± 17.47%. Finally, patients reporting low food security also reported a higher incidence of unsafe food acquisition practices (P < 0.05). These findings will help healthcare providers to better educate patients in the food safety practices necessary to decrease risk of foodborne infection, and to provide targeted food safety education to low-food-security patients.
Highlights
With an estimated 48 million people sick, 128,000 hospitalized, and 3000 dead from foodborne disease every year in the US [1], implementation of proper food safety practices among the general consumer population is of critical importance for public health
A patient diagnosed with gynecological cancer is at 66-times greater risk for infection by Listeria monocytogenes than someone from the general population, while a patient diagnosed with a blood cancer is 1364 times more susceptible to infection [3]
The impact of this study is the identification of risky food acquisition and food safety behaviors in cancer patients, as well as the quantification of patient knowledge pertaining to food safety
Summary
With an estimated 48 million people sick, 128,000 hospitalized, and 3000 dead from foodborne disease every year in the US [1], implementation of proper food safety practices among the general consumer population is of critical importance for public health. Cancer patients experience increased susceptibility to foodborne illness, compared to people under the age of 65 with no preexisting conditions [2]. This is dependent on the patient’s diagnosis and the pathogen to which they are exposed. A patient diagnosed with gynecological cancer is at 66-times greater risk for infection by Listeria monocytogenes than someone from the general population, while a patient diagnosed with a blood cancer is 1364 times more susceptible to infection [3]. Cancer patients are very susceptible to Saccharomyces cerevisiae [4] and Toxoplasma gondii [5], due to immunosuppression, and experience highly aggressive infection by Escherichia coli when exposed to the bacterium [6]
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