TABLE 6.
Changes in salt-related knowledge, attitude and behaviours before and after the intervention
| Salt-related knowledge, attitudes and behaviour | Baselinea | 18 monthsa | Difference (95% CI) | P value |
| Knowledge | ||||
| Agreed that salt could cause health problems (%) | 80.6 | 89.6 | 9.0 (−0.6 to 18.7) | 0.049 |
| Correctly identified the recommended amount of salt: <5 g (%) | 22.2 | 20.2 | −2.0 (−10.4 to 6.4) | 0.638 |
| Attitude | ||||
| Perceived salt consumption: far too much (%) | 23.2 | 17.7 | −5.5 (−13.7 to 2.7) | 0.183 |
| Claimed that lowering salt is very or somewhat important (%) | 92.1 | 93.0 | 0.9 (−4.3 to 6.0) | 0.740 |
| Behaviour | ||||
| Always/often add salt to food (%) | 49.6 | 33.4 | −16.2 (−26.2 to −6.3) | 0.002 |
| Always/often add salt in cooking (%) | 57.8 | 66.2 | 8.4 (−2.3 to 19.1) | 0.123 |
| Always/often eat processed foods (%) | 60.4 | 49.4 | −11.0 (−20.1 to −2.0) | 0.020 |
| Performed any method to control salt intake (%) | 72.5 | 93.4 | 20.9 (13.1–28.7) | <0.001 |
| Avoid consumption of processed foods (%) | 60.2 | 68.1 | 8.0 (−2.4 to 18.3) | 0.130 |
| Look at sodium labels (%) | 42.9 | 29.0 | −13.9 (−25.5 to −2.4) | 0.017 |
| Do not add salt at the table (%) | 45.5 | 47.9 | 2.4 (−8.9 to 13.7) | 0.677 |
| Buy low sodium alternatives (%) | 54.0 | 56.9 | 3.0 (−8.7 to 14.6) | 0.620 |
| Do not add salt when cooking (%) | 48.5 | 45.1 | −3.4 (−15.1 to 8.4) | 0.576 |
| Use spices other than salt in cooking (%) | 48.2 | 76.4 | 28.2 (17.2–39.2) | <0.001 |
| Avoid eating out (%) | 61.7 | 39.9 | −21.8 (−33.0 to −10.6) | <0.001 |
CI, confidence interval.
aAdjusted for age, sex, rurality, education, employment, height, weight and history of hypertension.