Views and opinions of people in Yasuj about salt consumption: a qualitative study with content analysis approach

High salt consumption is considered as one of the most significant behavioral risk factors in cardiovascular diseases which is also the first cause of mortality across the world and in Iran. This study aimed at exploring the views and opinions of people living in Yasuj about salt consumption to design a behavioral intervention.

In this qualitative study which was done through content analysis, the data were collected through 6 focus group discussion sessions attended by 66 people residing in the city of Yasuj in Iran. The data collection instrument in group discussions was comprised of semi-structured questions designed with an emphasis on social marketing mix. To this end, the submitted opinions and attitudes were fully recorded and transcribed and then analyzed manually using content analysis method. Finally, 5 main themes and 31 sub-themes were determined and the main themes with similar meanings were categorized following several reviews.

Findings: The 5 main themes included self-evaluation by individuals about salt consumption (5 sub-themes), effects of high salt consumption (3 sub-themes), barriers to reduce salt consumption (11 sub-themes), suggested strategies to cut down salt consumption (8 sub-themes), and communication channels to connect with people and encourage them to moderate salt consumption (4 sub-themes). Accordingly, the findings revealed that most study participants had no knowledge about the amount of salt consumption, considered the effects of high salt consumption only in the occurrence of high blood pressure, suggested time-saving home education programs for all family members, offered healthy salt alternatives, and finally recognized physicians and health care providers in healthcare service centers as the most important and influential people to modify their behaviors.

To modify the risky behaviors such as high salt consumption, it is important to be aware of the people’s views and opinions. It will be the basis of designing the effective consumer-oriented behavioral interventions