ISSN 2326-7291
International Journal of Public Health and Epidemiology ISSN 2326-7291 Vol. 9 (4), pp. 001-004, April, 2020. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
A descriptive study of behavioural patterns associated with gastrointestinal illness in the general Swedish population
Jonas Toljander* and Nina Karnehed
Risk Benefit Assessment Department, National Food Agency, Uppsala, Sweden.
Accepted 27 October, 2019
Abstract
A nation-wide survey was conducted in 2009 to collect information about behavioural patterns possibly associated with gastrointestinal illness (GI) in the general Swedish population. One-third of the respondents used various internet and/or telephone resources to find information about GI. Nearly eighty percent said that they buy and consume certain food products or beverages, and one-third of the respondents claimed that they buy over-the-counter pharmaceutical products for treatment of GI. In the present study, information retrieval behaviour on the internet and telephone calls to health care advice services appear to be the most relevant indicators of GI in Sweden.
Key words: Beverages, consumption patterns, foods, drugs, incidence of foodborne and waterborne gastrointestinal illness, health indicators, information retrieval, outbreak detection, over-the-counter drugs (OTC drugs), surveillance.