Shanghai Residents Salt Intervention Project Evaluation

For the sake of enhancing the public healthcare consciousness and ability and promote healthy lifestyle, shanghai government has developed a mass campaign of salt-intake control. The campaign was in the form of distributing metric salt-spoon to every resident families in shanghai via postal facilities and neighborhood committees. The evaluation research was developed to estimate the effectiveness of the campaign. Objective:To understand the status quo of salt-intake volume per capita in shanghai; To evaluate the effectiveness of the mess salt control and analyze relative influencing factors; To develop feasible and effective mechanism for mess health education and health promotion. Method:Quantitative methods including structured questionnaires and weighing were adopted. The evaluation samples were the residents aged from15-69years old from3000families sampled in shanghai with multi-stages cluster sampling of controls. Result:The knowledge rate of salt control increased after the intervention and it’s relative to the difference of age and level of education. All residents’attempt of reduceing their salt intake increased after the intervention. All residents’daily intake volume of salt decreased from7.13g per capita to6.38g per capita12months after the intervention. The intake volume of salt was proved to be relative to age, level of education and hypertension disease status. Most family cooks had higher age and lower level of education than general residents. The rate of families using the metric salt-spoon kept decreasing in the12months after the distribution. The residents’daily intake volume of salt decreased to6.04g6months after the intervention, but rebounded to6.38g12months after the intervention. No matter whether using the metric salt-spoon, or whether having the knowledge of salt control, the daily intake volume of salt of the residents both decreased, and there’s no statistic difference between the mean values of the decreased amounts. And most residents chose TV as their favorite approaches to obtain salt control knowledge. Discussion:Salt-intake control is an important and effective measurement to reduce the incidence rates of chronic diseases. The mass campaign of salt intake control is proved effective to develop public knowledge and healthy behavior. But there’s not strong evidence to demonstrate that the intervention form of distributing metric salt-spoon is more cost-effective than the way of mass media, e.g. TV. The duration of intervention effectiveness is about6months and then there’s a rebound, which means group intervention should be lasting and repeated periodly to sustain intervention efficiency. It’s demonstrated that the intervention is insufficient but to give the public definite suggestion of salt control. Giving definite and feasible advices to the public while develop salt control education and intervention. When design and choose applied, acceptable and economic tools of intervention, the characters and preferences of different walks of people should be firstly considered.