الفهرس 
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Abstract
Occupational health has evolved as a field over the last 20 years, most significantly over the last 2 years. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the amount and complexity of challenges for occupational health professionals, and at the same time provided a unique opportunity for the field in light of the heightened focus on health at the workplace (Kirsten, 2024). A broad range of occupational workers faced an elevated risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) exposure at work to perform vital services to maintain the food supply, sustain needed transportation, provide health care, assure energy supply, and others (Laskaris & Markowitz, 2024).
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is a communicable disease for human beings; reported within December 2019 at Wuhan, China, and later recognized as a pandemic on 11 March 2020 (World Health Organization (WHO), 2020). The high transmissibility of Coronavirus makes this pandemic more sensitive to all kinds of public engagement. During these extraordinary circumstances, the demand for basic human necessities is increasing dramatically, especially for food commodities (Shahbaz et al., 2020). The COVID-19 pandemic drastically changed everything, and the food industry was no exception. This industry became both essential, keeping people fed, and risky, with workers facing dangers to keep food supplies running.
Although many adjustments were primarily implemented to protect the personnel, changes were also made to safeguard products from Sars-CoV-2 virus contamination. Among the modifications made, emphasis was placed on cleaning activities, and ensuring the protection of unpacked ready-to-eat food products. These measures were crucial in safeguarding foods from potential contamination through droplets or cross-contamination via surfaces (Vignola et al., 2024).
Aim of the study:
The Aim of this study was to assess the preventive measures among workers in food industry during COVID-19 pandemic through: -
1- Assessing workers knowledge regarding preventive measures of COVID-19 pandemic.
2- Assessing workers’ practices regarding preventive measures of COVID-19 pandemic.
3- Assessing the work environment during COVID-19 pandemic.
Research questions:
This study answered the following questions: -
1- What is the workers’ knowledge level regarding the preventive measures of COVID-19 pandemic?
2- What are the workers’ practices regarding the preventive measures of COVID-19 pandemic?
3- Is there a relationship between workers’ demographic characteristics and their knowledge regarding the preventive measures of COVID-19 pandemic?
4- Is there a relationship between workers’ demographic characteristics and their practices regarding the preventive measures of COVID-19 pandemic?
5- Is there a relationship between workers’ knowledge and their practices regarding the preventive measures?
Research Design
A descriptive research design was utilized in this study.
Study Setting
This study was conducted at HEINZ food factory at 6 October city and Altagmaa Elkhams zone.
Study Subjects
A purposive sample from the factory workers in different departments was obtained.
Sample size:
The estimated sample size is 206 workers out of 440 workers, mentioned in the above setting, with a 95% confidence level (Thompson, 2012).
Tools of Data Collection
The data for this study was collected through the following tools:
Two tools were used for data collection through the following: -
The first tool: Workers’ self-administrated questionnaire: -
Part 1: Is concerned with demographic characteristics of workers such as (age, gender, marital status, educational level, years of experience and place of living.)
Part 2: Is concerned with assessment of workers’ knowledge regarding preventive measures for COVID-19. It was developed by the researcher. It was composed of 15 questions, divided into 2 parts: a) Information regarding the new Corona virus (8 questions); b) Workers’ information about precautionary measures to prevent Corona disease (7 questions) Islam et al., (2022).
Scoring system:
The total score for this part was 30 points, with a complete correct answer worth two points, and the wrong answer worth one point. These scores were added together and converted into a percentage score. It was classified into 2 categories:
- Satisfactory knowledge if score ≥ 70%.
- Unsatisfactory knowledge if score < 70%.
The second tool: observational checklist: -
It was consisted of two parts.
Part 1: Workers’ practices regarding methods of preventing Corona disease.
This part evaluates workers’ practices regarding the application of preventive measures among workers in the food industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was divided into four parts: a) steps for washing hands(10 items); Bender, (2020). b) steps for wearing and taking off the mask (8 items) WHO. (2019).; c) etiquette of coughing, sneezing and social distancing (6 items) Chavis& Ganesh, (2020). ; and d) instructions for workers inside the factory (7 items).
Scoring system: Each worker’s response was scored as either done or not done for each practice item. The total score for practices was categorized as follows:
- Satisfactory practice if score ≥ 80%.
- Unsatisfactory practice if score < 80%.
Part 2: Assessing the work environment safety during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
This part assessed the safety of the work environment during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the food industry. It was divided into four parts: a) washing hands (6 items); b) social distancing (4 items); c) personal tools and things (5 items); d) work environment cleanliness (6 items); and general procedures (8 items).
Scoring system: Work environment assessment checklist was scored as yes or no.
D) Pilot Study:
A pilot study was conducted on 10% (21) of the total study sample. The aim of the pilot study was to determine clarity, applicability of the tools and to estimate the time required for fulfilling the questionnaire sheets. The total time needed to complete the knowledge tool ranged (15-20) minutes. Those participants in the pilot study were included in the main study sample. Based on the pilot study, no modifications were made, and the final version was prepared for distribution to workers of food industry who participated in the study.
E) Fieldwork
After securing the official approvals for conducting the study, the researcher interviewed with the workers under the study to explain the aim of the study and obtain their approval to participate in the study prior to any data collection. Data was collected by the researcher over a period of three months from June 2022 to August 2022. The researcher collected the data three days / week in the morning and afternoon shifts across all departments.
III- Administrative Design:
An official approval to conduct the study was obtained after illustrating the purpose of the study and the main data items to be covered. The study was carried out after gaining the necessary approval from the director of Heinz factory through a formal letter from the Dean of the Faculty of Nursing at Ain Shams University.
Ethical Considerations:
Ethical approval was obtained from the scientific ethical committee in the faculty of Nursing, Ain Shams University before starting the study. In addition, an oral permission was obtained from each participant prior to data collection. They were assured that anonymity, confidentiality and the right to withdraw from the study at any time during data collection period would be guaranteed, as well as their collected responses were only used for a study purpose.
Results:
• The current study showed that 61.7% of the studied workers achieved satisfactory level of knowledge regarding COVID-19 and types of preventive measures. However, 38.3 % of them have an unsatisfactory level of knowledge.
• The current study revealed that 71.4% of the studied workers achieved a satisfactory total level of practice regarding the methods of preventing corona disease, while 28.6% of them achieved an unsatisfactory total level of practice.
• The current study displayed that there was a strong positive correlation between knowledge and practices (p <0.001.
Conclusion:
The current study founded that less than two thirds of the studied workers achieved a satisfactory level of knowledge, while more than one third of them had an unsatisfactory level of knowledge. Accordingly, less than three quarters of the studied workers in food industry achieved a satisfactory total score in terms of practicing methods to prevent the spread of corona virus. However, more than one quarter of them had an unsatisfactory level. Additionally, there was a strong positive correlation between total workers knowledge and total workers practices (p <0.001).