Abstract
Objective
The Parent Proxy Asthma Control Test (PP-ACT) is a self-report measure of asthma control completed by caregivers on behalf of a child. We examined the psychometric properties and the reliability and predictive validity of the PP-ACT.
Methods
We conducted two studies (one cross-sectional, one longitudinal over three months) that surveyed caregivers (N = 1622) of children with asthma. Caregivers completed the PP-ACT and a variety of other measures, including child health outcomes.
Results
We found clear evidence that the five-item PP-ACT assesses two distinct constructs: Items 1–4 (which we call the PP-ACT4) assess symptoms, impairment, and use of a short acting beta-2 blocker (albuterol); Item 5 assesses caregivers’ global subjective assessment of their child’s asthma control. In addition, the two constructs function as unique predictors of asthma outcomes. Both the PP-ACT4 and Item 5 predicted unique variance in ED visits, the number of symptom-free days, and child quality of life. Only the PP-ACT4 predicted frequency of ICS use and only at Time 1 in Study 1. Conversely, Item 5 predicted exacerbation frequency whereas the PP-ACT4 did not.
Conclusion
Our findings suggest that researchers and clinicians should treat the PP-ACT4 and Item 5 as distinct indicators of asthma control because they differentially predict asthma outcomes and likely have distinct meanings to caregivers.
Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/02770903.2022.2036755 .
Declaration of interest
The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.