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Salt adds to the taste and flavour of our food. But too much salt can lead to many health problems, most importantly high blood pressure – the leading cause of heart attack and stroke.
High blood pressure is common in Australia. Excess salt intake is one of the factors influencing blood pressure. Therefore, a good strategy to improve blood pressure is to reduce the amount of salt consumed. However, the majority of salt we consume is ‘hidden’ in processed and junk foods. This can make it difficult to choose lower salt options when shopping and preparing food or eating out. In the earlier stage of this project, we interviewed adults with high blood pressure to help develop an online intervention that provides personalised feedback on how to choose lower salt foods. In this project, we aim to investigate the effectiveness of this online, personalised intervention on salt reduction (called SaltED) compared to those on a waitlist.
We are asking adults with medically diagnosed high blood pressure or hypertension that requires you to take medication OR those with consistent systolic blood pressure ≥130 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure ≥85 mmHg to participate.
Surveys will take approximately 20 minutes each to complete and include questions on salt and dietary intake, food label reading, demographics (e.g., age, gender, living status), body weight and blood pressure.
Weekly online personalised content depends on your answers to the survey but covers feedback on food choices and alternatives.
By participating in this study, you may benefit from the materials provided to further your knowledge of salt intake to choose lower salt foods. This program is designed to help Australian adults with increased blood pressure to reduce their salt intake by providing personalised feedback on their current salt intake. You may or may not experience any benefit from this program (similar to any health program). During the program, you may experience discomfort and inconvenience taking time to complete the survey or accessing materials online.
Participants in the study will also receive a $50 Coles or Woolworth gift card at the end of the study for the completion of the 6 weeks program. Note: Please seek financial advice as to whether the gift card received should be considered as assessable income.
It is not expected that the salt reduction educational content provided within this project impacts your treatment plans for high blood pressure. But we advise that you contact your physician if you wish to discuss this project before agreeing to participate. To download the pdf version of the information sheet and discuss it with your physician, please click here.
Every attempt will be made to safeguard your privacy. Your name and any identifying information will not be shared with anyone and not appear on any of the transcripts, or other publications. The consent form and any other identifying information and research data will be securely stored in accordance with Central Queensland University policy and will be only used by the research team for the purpose stated.
The research findings will be included in journal articles, conferences, and any other publications that may result from the research.
You are free to withdraw from the research at any time until the end of the program with no explanation, and without prejudice or consequences as a result of your withdrawal. Any information you provided prior to withdrawal will be omitted from the study. If you decide to withdraw before the end of the program, you will not be eligible to receive the Coles or Woolworth gift cards allocated for the completion of this study or additional measurements.
If you have any feedback or question or wish to receive a plain English statement of the findings upon the completion of this study please contact Dr. Saman Khalesi: [email protected]
Please contact CQUniversity’s Office of Research (Tel: 07 4923 2603; E-mail: [email protected]; Mailing address: Building 32, CQUniversity, Rockhampton QLD 4702) should there be any concerns about the nature and/or conduct of this research project.
This project has been approved by the CQUniversity Human Research Ethics Committee (approval number 23636).
If you are interested in participating in SaltED, please click on the link below to confirm your eligibility using 5 simple questions.
If you have further questions or require clarification, please don’t hesitate to contact the SaltED team at [email protected]
Dr Saman Khalesi is leading this project. He is a Senior Lecturer and Researcher at Appleton Institute and School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, CQUniversity, Brisbane, Australia. This work is supported by his Postdoctoral Fellowship (Award No. 102584) from the National Heart Foundation of Australia.
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