Effective Factors in Environmental Health Status of Grocery Stores

Aims of the Study: This study was carried out to determine the effective factors in environmental health status of grocery stores in the city of Qom (located in the center of Iran). Materials & Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 283 grocery stores from 3 different regions were selected randomly using stratified sampling. Data were gathered through observation, interview, and questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of two sections: section 1 dealt with some shop managers’ features including the age, educational level, job satisfaction, passing “food and occupational hygiene training courses”, store ownership, duration of employment, and features of stores including their location (Region) and environmental health condition. And section 2 dealt with the important aspects of regulations of Article 13. The data analyzed using statistical procedures such as Spearman Rank Correlation and Multivariate Regression Analysis. P-values less than 0.05 were considered as statistically significant. Results: Among the investigated factors, the manager’s educational level had a greater impact on the environmental health conditions of grocery stores. The ownership status of grocery stores, Job satisfaction and passing “food and occupational hygiene training courses” were next in the ranking, respectively (p < 0.001 for all measures, except for shop ownership, for which p-value was < 0.02). Conclusions: Planning and implementation of effective operational and strategic programs addressing the above mentioned issues seems to be necessary. Such programs will improve the health status of the stores over time.