Implementation of the Asthma Control Test in Primary Care to Improve Patient Outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Asthma is one of the major chronic diseases in the pediatric population, affecting 9.5% of children. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute recommends the use of the Asthma Control Test (ACT) for periodic assessment of asthma control. The purpose of this evidence-based project was to implement the Asthma Control Test screening tool into the primary care practice to improve management of patients with asthma by more accurately addressing asthma control.

METHODS: The project was a pre- and post-implementation study comparing two different groups of patients with asthma seen at the clinic over 5-week periods.

RESULTS: After the implementation of the educational program and project, 82.6% of advanced practice registered nurses and 30.7% of pediatric resident physicians used an Asthma Control Test, resulting in identification of 9 (21%) patients who were considered not well-controlled. All (100%) of those children identified as not well-controlled through the Asthma Control Test received an adjustment in their medication therapy.

CONCLUSIONS: The Childhood ACT and ACT are simple, self-administered, validated questionnaires that can easily be incorporated into a primary care practice to assess the level of asthma control and to identify patients with asthma that is not well controlled.