title: Customized Asthma Control Test with reflection on sociocultural differences.
abstract: We evaluated the utility and feasibility of customizing Asthma Control Test (ACT) items to generate a Korean Asthma Control Test (KACT) specific for Korean patients. We surveyed 392 asthma patients with 19 items, selected to reflect the Korean sociocultural context. Guideline ratings were integrated with the evaluations of specialists (i.e., using both guide base rating together with specialist's rating), and items with the greatest discriminating validity were identified. Stepwise regression methods were used to select items. KACT scale scores showed significant differences between the asthma control ratings generated by integrating ratings (r=0.77, P<0.001), by specialist's evaluations (r=0.54, P<0.001), or by FEV(1) percent predicted (r=0.39, P<0.001). Specialist's and guideline ratings detected 56% and 48.6% of patients with well-controlled asthma, respectively. However, the integrated ratings indicated that only 34.3% of the patients in the test sample were well controlled. The overall agreement between KACT and the integrated rating ranged from 45% to 78%, depending on the cut-off points used. It is possible to formulate a valid, useful country-specific diagnostic tool for the assessment of asthma patients based on the original ACT that reflect differences in sociocultural context.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Konkuk University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Kwang-Ha
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Yoo
authors.forename: Jae-Won
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.forename: Ho-Joo
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.forename: Suk-Il
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Hee-Bom
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.forename: Byoung-Hwui
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: You-Young
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sang-Heon
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Cho
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001249:Asthma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012372:ROC Curve; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires