Impact of Asthma Education Meeting on Asthma Control Level Assessed by Asthma Control Test

BACKGROUND : The asthma control test (ACT) is a reliable tool to measure the level of asthma control. In our research, we aimed to investigate the effect of participation in an asthma awareness session on the patient's perception of current asthma control as evaluated by ACT in relation to quality of life (QoL) in an adult population. METHODS : An observational study in subjects who were diagnosed as suffering with persistent asthma was performed. All asthmatic patients who were followed up in healthcare centers around the city were invited to the study. Patients who consented were informed about the study and then skin prick tests, pulmonary function tests, and blood analyses were performed. In addition, a self-administered generic QoL questionnaire (SF-36) was completed. Finally, the patients were invited to attend the asthma awareness session, and pre-post educational ACT assessments were evaluated. RESULTS : Overall asthma control was less than optimal in almost half of the study group. ACT level changed in 70.5% of the patients. The change in asthma control by using ACT was prominent in the ACT-deteriorated group than the ACT-improved group (-3.8 ± 2.7 and 2.1 ± 1.3, respectively; P = 0.001). Regarding comorbidities, the ACT-deteriorated group had the highest prevalence of rhinitis (P = 0.04). The impairment in QoL was similar between the groups and the physical domains of SF-36 were correlated with the ACT scores. The correlation between education level and asthma control was found to be significant after the training session (r = 0.353, P = 0.04). CONCLUSION : Education in asthma is an essential strategy not only to achieve awareness of asthma control level as assessed by ACT, but also for the reliability of QoL measurement.