A community study of health promotion in rural West Africa: details of a household survey and population census

Background: Hypertension is an important problem in sub-Saharan Africa. The low use of processed food in this area makes a population approach to reducing salt intake feasible. Aim: To create an age-sex register for 12 villages in Ghana as the first stage of a community study of the effect of dietary salt reduction on blood pressure and urinary sodium excretion in West African villagers. Design: Household survey and population census. Methods: Over three months, village maps were sketched and a complete list of total number of households, adults (with age and gender) and children in each village was obtained. Results: The six semi-urban villages were larger than the six rural villages (10368 vs. 6597 inhabitants) and almost half the total population was under 16. Conclusions: Accurate census data are important in the design, implementation and interpretation of community studies and intervention trials. We outline the methods by which census data can be collected in rural and semi-urban sub-Saharan African villages, and emphasize the importance of painstaking, thorough work in the collection of such data.