Using Social Marketing to Reduce Salt Intake in Iran

Abstract

Objectives: WHO has recommended that the average salt intake must be <5 grams per day. However, people consume salt much more in many countries. In this study, we design and implement an intervention based on social marketing model to reduce salt consumption in Yasuj, Iran. Materials and Methods: This study employed a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest with control group design which consisted of a formative research (qualitative-quantitative) and an interventional phase. To collect the qualitative data, six focus group discussions by participating of 66 people were established. The qualitative data were analyzed manually using directed content analysis. In quantitative study, 166 people aged 25-50 years completed a KAP questionnaire, and their average salt intake was determined through measuring sodium in their urine sample. By analyzing the data, marketing mix components were determined for designing an intervention. An educational package (including posters for installing in the kitchen, pamphlets, phone counseling, four educational classes, and brief interventions done by physicians and other health personnel) focused on reducing salt intake and using alternatives was developed. For one month, program was implemented for intervention group. Two months later, KAP survey and measuring the urine sodium were repeated for intervention and control groups. The data was compared for two groups, before and after the intervention by using independent t-test, paired t-tests and repeated measures ANOVA. Results: The qualitative findings showed that most participants agreed that the salt intake was high in Iran. Most of them recommended home-based and family-driven strategies to reduce salt intake, offered using healthier alternatives for salt, and recognized physicians and health care providers in healthcare facilities as the most important to encourage people to reduce salt intake. After the intervention, the mean and standard deviation of KAP were improved significantly in intervention group. The mean salt intake decreased significantly by 3.01 ± 2.38 in the intervention group and repeated measures ANOVA showed significant change over time (P < 0.001) and a significant difference between two groups (P = 0.04). Also, the interaction between time and group was significant (P = 0.001). Layeghiasl et al. Social Marketing to Reduce Salt Intake Conclusion: The mean salt intake among the study population was approximately three times more than the level recommended by the WHO. The social marketing-based intervention succeeded in reducing the salt intake of the study subjects by ∼3 grams on average.

Is It Still Possible to Reduce Population Salt Intake in Absence of Adequate National Policies and Regulations? A Randomized Field Trial, Social Marketing Intervention

“…Therefore, the present study is one of the rst community-based interventions in Iran using a holistic approach through which multiple factors playing role in peoples' salt intake was taken into account by employing social marketing framework. The signi cant effects of the present intervention on reducing salt intake was similar to those reported by other studies (36)(37)(38)(39)(40).…”

“…Following WHO recommendation as the guide of the present intervention, this study was able to capture more of salt-related factors and determinants varying from individual cognitive factors to market factors such as customer's preferences, accessibility, cost, and promotion. In Iran, very limited interventions have attempted to reduce salt intake (20,34,35), while one have used social marketing framework (36).…”

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“…The findings of this study further contribute to the audience analysis part of the social marketing framework for salt reduction, in which the consumer/target audience’s current knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to salt consumption have been investigated and synthesized to facilitate the communication of salt reduction messages across specific cultural contexts [ 59 ]. Social marketing offers alternative options to the traditional focus of using public policies to decrease a population’s salt intake [ 60 ].…”

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