Table 3.

Frequency distribution of stages of changing the behavior of discretionary salt intake in women Stages of change in the behavior of discretionary salt intake

		Pre-contemplation n=179		Contemplation and preparation n=231		Action and Maintenance n=151		Total n=561		P
		n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
Adding salt in cooking	Never	1	2.6	4	10.3	34	87.2	39	6.9	Chi-squared P<0.001
	Sometimes	2	3.1	13	20.3	49	76.6	64	11.4
	Often	40	24.5	56	34.4	67	41.1	163	29
	Always	136	46.1	158	53.6	1	0.3	295	52.5
Adding salt at the table	Never	73	24.5	92	30.9	133	44.6	298	53.1	Chi-squared P<0.001
	Sometimes	44	32.6	75	55.6	16	11.9	135	24.0
	Often	36	46.2	40	51.3	2	2.6	78	13.9
	Always	26	52.0	24	48.0	0	0	50	8.9
Level of education	Below high school diploma	24	29.3	34	41.5	24	29.3	82	14.6	Chi-squared P=0.874
	High school diploma	66	30.3	93	42.7	59	27.1	218	38.8
	University	89	34.1	104	39.8	68	26.1	261	46.5
Occupation	Homemaker	116	31	164	43.9	94	25.1	374	66.7	Chi-squared P=0.169
	Employed	63	33.7	67	35.8	57	30.5	187	33.3
Age (year)	<30	69	41.6	62	37.3	35	21.2	166	29.6	Chi-squared P=0.02
	30-39	59	29.1	82	40.4	62	30.5	203	36.2
	≥40	51	26.6	87	45.3	54	28.1	192	34.2
Knowledge of the relationship between salt intake and diseases	Desirable	98	31.6	134	43.2	78	25.5	310	55.3	Chi-squared P=0.468
	Undesirable	81	32.3	97	38.6	73	29.1	251	44.7
Salt intake limitation in the family	No	118	34.9	127	37.6	93	27.5	338	60.2	Chi-squared P=0.074
	Yes	61	27.4	104	46.6	58	26.0	223	39.8
Self-efficacy score	Mean±SD	16.28±5.8		19.70±5.9		23.33±5.6				Spearman’s P<0.001