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ALMA, a new tool for the management of asthma patients in clinical practice: development, validation and initial clinical findings.

Kiotseridis, Hampus LU ; Bjermer, Leif LU ; Pilman, Eva ; Ställberg, Björn ; Romberg, Kerstin LU and Tunsäter, Alf LU (2012) In Primary Care Respiratory Journal 21(2). p.139-144
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Several instruments have been developed for measuring asthma control, but there is still a need to provide a structure for primary care asthma reviews. AIMS: The Active Life with Asthma (ALMA) tool was developed with the aim of structuring patient visits and assessing asthma treatment in primary care. The ability of ALMA to map out the care of asthma patients was evaluated and validated. METHODS: ALMA was developed with patient and clinical expert input. Questions were generated in focus groups and the resulting tool was subsequently validated by factor analysis in 1779 patients (1116 females) of mean age 51 years (range 18-89) in primary care. RESULTS: The ALMA tool includes 19 questions, 14 of which belong to a subset... (More)
BACKGROUND: Several instruments have been developed for measuring asthma control, but there is still a need to provide a structure for primary care asthma reviews. AIMS: The Active Life with Asthma (ALMA) tool was developed with the aim of structuring patient visits and assessing asthma treatment in primary care. The ability of ALMA to map out the care of asthma patients was evaluated and validated. METHODS: ALMA was developed with patient and clinical expert input. Questions were generated in focus groups and the resulting tool was subsequently validated by factor analysis in 1779 patients (1116 females) of mean age 51 years (range 18-89) in primary care. RESULTS: The ALMA tool includes 19 questions, 14 of which belong to a subset assessing asthma control. In this subset, factor analysis revealed three domains (factors): physical, psychological, and environmental triggers. Correlation with the Asthma Control Questionnaire was 0.72 and the Cronbach's alpha was 0.88. The test-retest reliability was 0.93. Of the 1779 patients tested with ALMA in primary care, 62% reported chest tightness, 30% nightly awakenings and 45% asthma breakthrough despite medication. CONCLUSIONS: The ALMA tool is useful as a follow-up instrument in clinical practice to structure patient visits and assess asthma treatment in primary care. The breadth of the questions and the pragmatic use in clinical practice also make it useful as an outcome measure. (Less)
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author
; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Primary Care Respiratory Journal
volume
21
issue
2
pages
139 - 144
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • wos:000305378800013
  • pmid:22234388
  • scopus:84862672025
  • pmid:22234388
ISSN
1475-1534
DOI
10.4104/pcrj.2011.00091
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
The information about affiliations in this record was updated in December 2015. The record was previously connected to the following departments: Respiratory Medicine and Allergology (013230111), Pediatrics/Urology/Gynecology/Endocrinology (013240400)
id
6459bc7f-5dc2-407b-b98e-6b909f9480b1 (old id 2336573)
alternative location
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22234388?dopt=Abstract
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 08:57:01
date last changed
2022-01-29 08:01:15
@article{6459bc7f-5dc2-407b-b98e-6b909f9480b1,
  abstract     = {{BACKGROUND: Several instruments have been developed for measuring asthma control, but there is still a need to provide a structure for primary care asthma reviews. AIMS: The Active Life with Asthma (ALMA) tool was developed with the aim of structuring patient visits and assessing asthma treatment in primary care. The ability of ALMA to map out the care of asthma patients was evaluated and validated. METHODS: ALMA was developed with patient and clinical expert input. Questions were generated in focus groups and the resulting tool was subsequently validated by factor analysis in 1779 patients (1116 females) of mean age 51 years (range 18-89) in primary care. RESULTS: The ALMA tool includes 19 questions, 14 of which belong to a subset assessing asthma control. In this subset, factor analysis revealed three domains (factors): physical, psychological, and environmental triggers. Correlation with the Asthma Control Questionnaire was 0.72 and the Cronbach's alpha was 0.88. The test-retest reliability was 0.93. Of the 1779 patients tested with ALMA in primary care, 62% reported chest tightness, 30% nightly awakenings and 45% asthma breakthrough despite medication. CONCLUSIONS: The ALMA tool is useful as a follow-up instrument in clinical practice to structure patient visits and assess asthma treatment in primary care. The breadth of the questions and the pragmatic use in clinical practice also make it useful as an outcome measure.}},
  author       = {{Kiotseridis, Hampus and Bjermer, Leif and Pilman, Eva and Ställberg, Björn and Romberg, Kerstin and Tunsäter, Alf}},
  issn         = {{1475-1534}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{139--144}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Primary Care Respiratory Journal}},
  title        = {{ALMA, a new tool for the management of asthma patients in clinical practice: development, validation and initial clinical findings.}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.4104/pcrj.2011.00091}},
  doi          = {{10.4104/pcrj.2011.00091}},
  volume       = {{21}},
  year         = {{2012}},
}