Knowledge, attitude, and practice on mushroom poisoning among residents of Jilin province

Mushroom poisoning is a significant public health concern, with diverse species causing various degrees of toxicity. This study aimed to investigate the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) towards mushroom poisoning among the population in Jilin Province.

This cross-sectional study was conducted among the general population in Jilin province between August 2023 and September 2023. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect demographic information and KAP.

Among 503 valid collected questionnaires, 331 (65.8%) were filled out by women and 188 (37.4%) by individuals aged 31-40. The median (25% quartile and 75% quartile) knowledge, attitude, and practice scores were 11 (6, 15) (possible range: 0-22), 37 (32, 42) (possible range: 10-50), and 24 (22, 26) (possible range: 10-30), respectively. Correlation analysis showed significant positive correlations between knowledge and attitude (r = 0.110, P = 0.014), as well as attitude and practice (r = 0.512, P < 0.001). Conversely, although a negative correlation was observed between knowledge and practice (r = -0.035), this relationship was not statistically significant (P = 0.439). Multivariate logistic regression showed that never eating wild mushrooms (OR = 4.413, 95% CI: 2.858, 6.816, P < 0.001) and not experiencing food poisoning (OR = 3.113, 95% CI: 1.208, 8.025, P = 0.019) were independently associated with the practice.

The study found that the general population in Jilin Province demonstrated moderate knowledge levels, with only 10.93% of participants achieving adequate scores (≥ 80% of the total score). Attitudes were relatively positive, with 29.42% of participants scoring ≥ 80%, but practice remained suboptimal, as only 26.04% of participants achieved proactive practice scores (≥ 80%). Significant positive correlations were observed between knowledge and attitude, and between attitude and practice. There was no significant correlation between knowledge and practice, suggesting that higher knowledge levels did not consistently lead to safer practices at this time.

not applicable.