RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF THE KAZAKH-LANGUAGE ACT QUESTIONNAIRE AS AN ASTHMA CONTROL TOOL

To date, several questionnaires have been developed as easy-to-use screening tools for assessing and monitoring asthma control as the Asthma Control Test (ACT). However, the assessment of the reliability of the ACT questionnaire translated into the Kazakh language has not been carried out yet. The study aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Kazakh-language ACT questionnaire as an asthma control tool.

A multi-centre study was conducted in three Kazakhstan medical institutions for the period: from 02.05.2022 to 06.05.2022. The study included 222 Kazakh patients (Kazakhs in the third generation) with a confirmed diagnosis of bronchial asthma. In this study, the ACT questionnaire translated into Kazakh was used to assess the level of asthma control. The form of asthma was determined in accordance with the recommendations of the Global Initiative on Asthma (GINA). The internal consistency of the questionnaire was analysed by using the reliability index (Cronbach's alpha). The clinical and demographic data were collected, including data on the spirometry.

The Kazakhstani version of the ACT questionnaire showed high reliability, with Cronbach's alpha of 0.991. The majority of patients (87.4%) had controlled asthma. A significant difference was found in ACT scores between patients with a duration of asthma of 0-12 months and those with asthma for 10 years or more. Similarly, significant differences were found in ACT scores based on the severity of asthma and the age of the patients.

The ACT questionnaire translated into Kazakh proved to be useful tools for assessing asthma control in the Kazakhstani population.