Foodborne diseases are a significant public health concern, particularly among children. Mothers play a vital role in ensuring household food safety, and improving their knowledge may help prevent food poisoning. Mothers play a crucial role in maintaining food safety practices within households, and their knowledge regarding food hygiene and prevention of food poisoning directly influences the health of their children.
To evaluate the effectiveness of a planned teaching programme on knowledge regarding prevention of food poisoning among mothers of children aged 6–12 years.
A quasi-experimental pre-test–post-test control group design was conducted among 120 mothers in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. Participants were divided into intervention (n = 60) and control (n = 60) groups. Data were collected using a validated structured questionnaire (CVI = 0.89; Cronbach’s α = 0.82). The intervention group received a structured educational programme, while the control group received no intervention. Data were analysed using paired and independent t-tests.
The intervention group showed a significant increase in mean knowledge scores from 11.3 ± 3.1 to 19.2 ± 2.4 (p < 0.001), whereas no significant change was observed in the control group (p = 0.18). The effect size was large (Cohen’s d = 1.75).
The teaching programme significantly improved mothers’ knowledge of food poisoning prevention, highlighting the importance of community-based health education interventions.
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