Assessing and improving the knowledge deficit about salt reduction Effect of salt reduction awareness on Lebanese cardiac subjects.

Objective: A high salt consumption was observed among the Lebanese population and the need to address this health behavioral problem was imperative. The aim of this behavioral intervention, part of the Lebanese Action for Salt and Health (LASH), was to assess the knowledge, behavior, and attitude of Lebanese patients’ pre- and post-nutrition intervention in the Cardiac Care Unit (CCU) at AUB-MC.

Method: 24 CCU patients (14 males; 10 females), from different age groups coming from various Lebanese regions were approached. A pre- and post-intervention questionnaire was filled to assess their baseline knowledge about salt and any knowledge gain attained after the teaching intervention. Instructive tools were prepared and used such as presentations, pamphlets, posters, shopping guides, and a video dedicated to the campaign. Moreover, this awareness intervention extended to include a total of 49 nurses, food service employees, and diet aid personnel who attended a session about the importance of salt reduction on health.

Results: Participants were aware of the relationship between salt intake and health; however, lack of knowledge was observed concerning the salt content of different food items, the importance of food labels, and the knowledge about the maximum recommended daily allowance of salt intake among other knowledge needs. A tremendous improvement was perceived post teaching intervention.

Conclusion: This behavioral intervention has gained numerous positive feedbacks and was extremely useful for patients. It undoubtedly served as a knowledge refresher for various nurses and medical staff alike. The success of this intervention encourage conducting a similar activity on all the hospital floors to ensure improvement in nutritional knowledge and adoption of healthy diets for optimal lifestyle.