Stakeholder perspectives on the effectiveness of the Victorian Salt Reduction Partnership: a qualitative study

Abstract

Background Interventions to reduce population salt intake are feasible and cost-effective. The Victorian Salt Reduction Partnership implemented a complex, multi-faceted salt reduction intervention between 2014 and 2020 in the Australian state of Victoria. This study aimed to understand stakeholder perspectives on the effectiveness of the Victorian Salt Reduction Partnership. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with Partnership and food industry stakeholders. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research was adapted for the Partnership intervention and used to guide the qualitative analysis. Results Fourteen Partnership and seven food industry stakeholders were interviewed. The Partnership was viewed as essential for intervention planning and decision-making and an enabler for intervention delivery. The goals of capacity building and collaborative action were perceived to have been achieved. The implementation team executed intended intervention activities and outputs, with some adaptations to strategy. Barriers and enablers to implementation were identified by interviewees, such as compatibility of individual, organisational and Partnership values and building positive relationships between the Partnership and food industry, respectively. Legal, political, social, environmental, technological and economic factors affecting intervention design, delivery and outcomes were identified. Conclusions Establishing a Partnership with diverse skills and experience facilitated collaborative action, capacity building and execution of the intervention. Monitoring and evaluating implementation informed strategy adaptations, which allowed optimisation of Partnership strategy. The importance of developing strong communication networks between strategic and implementation-levels was a key lesson.

Stakeholder perspectives on Nigeria’s national sodium reduction program: Lessons for implementation and scale-up

“…The most prominent barriers affecting two or more implementation outcomes included: consumer level barriers (poor knowledge of excess salt intake and its impact on health, distrust in government-led work due to poor implementation of existing dietary policies, cultural practices on food preparation), organization barriers (poor design of nutrition labels, perceived loss of customers due to changing taste), and policy level determinants (lack of salt replacement, poor advertising regulation, high cost of public health campaigns, existence of multiple sources of salt, bureaucratic nature of public institutions, affordability of high-salt foods). These implementation barriers are similar to those identified in previous studies of national salt reduction programs [26][27][28][29].…”

Evaluation of a Salt-Reduction Consumer Awareness Campaign Targeted at Parents Residing in the State of Victoria, Australia

“…This was the first salt awareness campaign to be implemented and evaluated within the Australian setting. Although our reported changes in KABs were modest; this is to be expected when considering outcomes achieved from previous health promotion awareness campaigns [ 45 , 46 , 50 , 51 ] and the relatively limited allocation of resources to the current campaign [ 21 ]. Internationally, one of the most notable consumer awareness campaigns targeting population salt reduction was conducted in the UK by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) between 2004 and 2009 [ 7 ].…”

“…The multi-faceted intervention was developed and overseen by the Victorian Salt Reduction Partnership, a group of stakeholders from health-related non-governmental organizations, the state government and the academic sector. Intervention strategies were informed by previous state and community-level salt-reduction interventions [ 18 , 19 ] and centered around five key action areas—raising consumer awareness; generating public debate; strategic partnership; engaging food industry; and advocacy and policy strengthening [ 20 , 21 ]. Central to the intervention was a consumer awareness campaign delivered during 2016–2019 [ 16 , 20 ] that aimed to support consumers in reducing their salt intake and encourage community support for reduced-salt foods.…”

“…Therefore, to evaluate the impact of the consumer awareness campaign on salt-related knowledge, attitudes and behaviors (KABs) within the Victorian population we have assessed trends in salt-related KAB pre- and post-delivery of the campaign in two segments of the population: i) the target market of the campaign (parents of children <18 years of age) and ii) the wider adult population (excluding parents of children <18 years of age). This study sits within a comprehensive evaluation of the Victorian Salt Reduction Partnership salt-reduction intervention [ 16 , 20 , 21 , 22 ].…”

Understanding Enablers and Barriers to the Implementation of Nutrition Standards in Publicly Funded Institutions in Victoria

“…These stakeholders had similar experiences and perspectives and it is unlikely this grouping influenced the results. In addition, the recruitment approach, which was through the support service mailing list, was chosen due to previously faced challenges in contacting and engaging eligible participants within publicly funded institutions as part of a larger statewide salt reduction program [63]. However, our sample was likely biased towards organisations implementing or already complying with the guidelines, so perspectives may not be representative of all stakeholders in publicly funded institutions in Victoria.…”