[Reliability of a questionnaire to assess food safety knowledge, perceptions, and practices among outpatients with...

HIV-positive patients are at increased risk of acquiring infections, particularly those related to water and food. The risk could be reduced by educational interventions in the clinical setting related to food safety for the prevention of food-borne diseases. The current study aimed to analyze food safety knowledge, perceptions, and practices among HIV-positive outpatients. A questionnaire was organized with five behavioral areas (cross contamination; personal hygiene; household hygiene; temperature control; and control of unsafe foods). The test-retest procedure demonstrated the questionnaire's reliability. Kappa values varied among the questions: high for 84.6% (33); moderate for 12.8% (5); and low for 2.5% (1). Based on the results, the instrument showed good reliability for most of the questions and can be used for surveys on food safety in HIV-positive outpatients.