The reliability and validity of Turkish version of Childhood Asthma Control Test.

INTRODUCTION

The reliability and validity of Turkish version of Childhood Asthma Control Test (C-ACT).

PURPOSE

The management of asthma is an important as well as difficult issue of physician's daily practice particularly in busy clinical settings. C-ACT was created to identify asthma control levels in children aged 4-11 years. Our aim was to evaluate the reliability, validity and responsiveness of C-ACT in a Turkish sample of children with asthma.

METHOD

In this multicenter study, 368 children were enrolled. C-ACT was completed every month by parents and patients who were evaluated in 3 visits within 2 month intervals. At each visit, physicians interpret the control level and decided for the treatment step as established in GINA guidelines.

RESULTS

The internal consistency reliability of the Turkish version of C-ACT (C-ACT1 to C-ACT5) was found to be 0.82, 0.83, 0.82, 0.82 and 0.80, respectively (reliability statistics, Cronbach's alpha). Test-retest reliability was 0.71. There was significant correlation between C-ACT and physician's assessment of asthma control at visit 1 (r = 0.65, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Turkish version of C-ACT is an accurate and reliable tool to evaluate asthma control in children aged 4-11 years. Its widespread use may facilitate appropriate assessment of asthma control and may lead to decrease the number of uncontrolled patients.