Evaluation of the knowledge level of health violations in food production, distribution, sales centers and public places and their authorities investigating among the women of Bushehr city

BACKGROUND: Women and mothers are the most important educational audience to convey health teachings. This study was aimed to evaluate the knowledge level of different types of health violations of food production, distribution, sale centers and public places; and authorities investigating the violations among women referring to health care centers in Bushehr. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this descriptive-analytical study, which was done cross-sectionally, 600 women who were referred to health care centers affiliated to the Bushehr University of Medical Sciences was selected by convenience sampling. Two-part questionnaire was used to collect data: demographic information and a researcher-designed knowledge survey questionnaire consisted of 25 questions with Cronbach's alpha = 0.7. Data were analyzed with the software SPSS version 13; using Chi-square test and Phi and Cramer test. P ≤ 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. RESULTS: The findings showed that 56.9% and 26.5% of women had good and moderate knowledge levels regarding health violations, while the general knowledge level of authorities investigating health violations were at the moderate level among 57.3% and at the good level among 15.3% of women. Overall, there was a significant relationship between education level and the women's knowledge level of health violations (P < 0.0001). The relationship between the women's education level and authorities investigating health violations was not significant (P = 0.073). CONCLUSION: Applying interventional methods of education in health violations to the women by health centers can elevate the level of health knowledge among them.