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Patients benefited from the use of asthma action plans, according to a multicenter, cross-sectional study published in the Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences. The researchers used the Global Initiative for Asthma’s assessment of control questions to analyze data from 265 adult patients to evaluate asthma control and determine the prevalence of asthma action plan utilization. On average, the participants were 48.4 years of age, and 73.2% were female. Overall, 80% of patients had controlled asthma, while 20% had uncontrolled asthma. Only 34.3% of patients reported being introduced to an asthma action plan, with 93.4% receiving a written plan. Among those provided with a plan, the same percentage (93.4%) reported significant benefits. The likelihood of receiving an asthma action plan was significantly lower among patients with very low or no literacy compared with those with any level of education (P<0.001). The authors advised that it is important to provide a written action plan to patients with asthma.
