Investigation on awareness of rodent prevention and control among canteen staff in medical institutions

LI Binghui; MA Xiaofang; SUN Gengxiao; LI Xue; SONG Fucheng; HUANG Yiqing; LIU Yantao; XIU Jingwei; WANG Wei

doi:10.19821/j.1671-2781.2025.06.021

Abstract：Objective To understand the cognitive level of rodent prevention of canteen staff in medical institutions,so as to provide scientific guarantee for improving rodent prevention and control in canteens of medical institutions.Methods The convenient sampling was used to conduct a questionnaire survey in December 2024 to investigate the awareness of rodent prevention and control among canteen staff in medical institutions above the secondary level across 10 districts and county-level cities in Qingdao.Results The overall awareness rate of rodent prevention and control among canteen staff in medical institutions was 78.42%.98.56%of the staff understood how rodent enter buildings and the installation locations of rodent barriers in canteens,while the awareness of rodent prevention and control measures incanteen was the lowest at 41.01%.97.84%of the staff actively chose to block holes or rodent burrows as a prevention method,and 94.96%of the staff learned rodent prevention and control knowledge through WeChat and online platforms.There were statistically significant differences between the high-awareness group and low-awareness group in terms of the cognition of diseases transmitted by rodents,rodent species,the living environment of rodents,how rodents enter residential buildings,the usage methods of outdoor rodenticide,the installation locations of rodent barriers in canteens,rodent prevention and control measures in canteens,as well as the preferences for learning channels for rodent prevention and control knowledge.Conclusion Canteen staff in medical institutions have a relatively high level of awareness regarding rodent prevention and control,and they primarily obtain related knowledge through WeChat and online platforms.However,there are ceretain cognitive misconceptions regarding the measures for preventing and controlling rodents indoors.Medical institutions and government departments should make full use of both traditional and new media to promote rodent prevention and control knowledge,strengthen training,implement multiple measures to eliminate misunderstandings,and guide staff to correctly choose appropriate rodent prevention and control measures.