| Secondary infectious diseases caused by food-borne illness contribute substantially to the morbidity and mortality of individuals infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Individuals infected with HIV have a weakened immune system and are more susceptible to contracting foodborne illnesses. Food safety knowledge is a mitigating factor to preventing food-borne illnesses. The purpose of this descriptive study was to evaluate the food safety knowledge of HIV-positive individuals using a survey based on FightBAC!(TM) concepts and the Health Belief Model. This study assessed HIV-positive adults' overall knowledge of FightBAC! concepts: clean, separate, cook, and chill and knowledge of each concept. Data were analyzed using SPSS. All subjects were receiving services at a local hospital in western New York. A total of 32 subjects participated in the study. Only 8 of the subjects received a score of 80% or higher. The mean score for all the subjects was 68.5% and the mean score for each FightBAC! concept was 86% for clean, 83% for separate, 49% for cook, and 61 % for chill. It was concluded that food safety knowledge is inadequate in the subjects and the least understood FightBAC! were cook and chill. |
