Asthma is a chronic problem of the respiratory system in which the airways become easily inflamed and constricted, making breathing difficult. Asthma can be treated with medications that control both the severity and frequency of acute asthma attacks. The Asthma Control Test (ACT) was developed as a way of assessing how well a patient's asthma is being controlled in terms of how it affects the patient's everyday life.
Development
The ACT was developed by QualityMetric in accordance with some of the guidelines for asthma control set forth by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. This survey was designed to assess the control of asthma in patients, which in many ways is more important than the severity of asthma for evaluating the success of a treatment plan. This test, according to the QualityMetric website, was designed with the input of experts in the field of asthma in order to make the test as clinically useful as possible.
Taking the Test
The ACT consists of five questions. Each question regards the frequency with which asthma affects the patient's life. The questions all have five possible answers, with each answer also corresponding to a number value, according to a version of the test that is published on the Kentucky Pediatrics Association website. After all five questions have been answered, the numbers corresponding to the different answers are summed to give a final number, which is the patient's score for the test.
Result Interpretation
With the ACT, higher numbers indicate better control. For example, for the question, "In the past four weeks, how much of the time did your asthma keep you from getting as much done at work, school or at home?", an answer of "All of the time" is assigned a numerical value of one, whereas "None of the time" receives a score of five. According to the version from the Kentucky Pediatrics Association, a score of 19 or lower indicates that the patient's asthma could be better controlled.
Recommendations
The ACT is recommended for patients older than 11 in order to assess the level of asthma control. The results of the test should be regarded as representative of how well a patient's asthma is controlled. Patients scoring poorly on their test should talk to their doctor about how their asthma control can be improved. This may involve changing the patient's treatment regimen or educating the patient about the importance of following the doctor's instructions for the usage of medications.
Children Younger Than 12
Because it can be difficult for children to fully comprehend or read the questions, there is an alternate version of the test at the Asthma Control website for children between the ages of 4 and 11. With this version of the test, the child answers the first four questions, which have an illustration of a face with different emotions to help guide the child through the answers. There are also three questions for the child's parents to answer.
