Quality Standard Details
Asthma: Care in the Community for People Under 16 Years of Age
- Publication Date
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2025-June-01
- Status
- Published
- Topic Area
- Lung Health
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Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways in the lungs. People with asthma typically experience difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, wheezing (a whistling sound produced in the airways during breathing), sputum (mucus) production, and/or cough. These symptoms can be episodic or persistent.
Although asthma affects people of all ages, the incidence of asthma is higher in childhood; in 2022/23, it was highest among children under 5 years of age at 24 per 1,000 children compared with 3 per 1,000 people among all ages combined. In Canada, asthma is the most common cause of hospital admission for children, and – based on measures of school absences, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations – one of the leading causes of morbidity from chronic disease among children and adolescents. Improving the quality of asthma care can help children and adolescents better control their disease, preventing acute exacerbations, emergency department visits, hospital admissions, and deaths.
This quality standard addresses the diagnosis and management of asthma in children and adolescents under 16 years of age, with a focus on primary care and community-based settings. It addresses referral to specialized pediatric asthma care for children and adolescents who have indications characterizing severe asthma, but it does not address the management of severe asthma in specialized care, acute asthma exacerbations, or care provided during emergency department visits or hospitalizations.
A separate quality standard addresses asthma in adults.
Quality Standard in Brief
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Quality Statement 1: Diagnosis
Children 6 years of age and older and adolescents clinically suspected of having asthma complete spirometry to demonstrate reversible airflow obstruction and, if negative, other lung function testing to confirm the diagnosis of asthma, as soon as possible. Children 1-5 years of age are diagnosed with asthma after documentation of signs or symptoms of airflow obstruction, clear improvement in signs and symptoms with asthma medications, and no clinical suspicion of an alternative diagnosis.
Quality Statement 2: Asthma Control and Risk of Exacerbations
Children and adolescents with asthma have a structured assessment at least annually to determine their level of asthma control, reasons for poor control, and risk of future exacerbations.
Quality Statement 3: Asthma Medication
Children and adolescents with asthma receive appropriate medication and devices based on their age, current level of asthma control, and risk of future exacerbations, including early initiation of regular inhaled anti-inflammatory therapy.
Quality Statement 4: Self-Management Education and Asthma Action Plan
Children and adolescents with asthma and their care partners receive self-management education and a written personalized asthma action plan that is reviewed regularly with a clinician.
Quality Statement 5: Referral to Specialized Pediatric Asthma Care
Children and adolescents with asthma with appropriate indications are referred to specialized pediatric asthma care.
Quality Statement 6: Follow-Up After Discharge
Children and adolescents who have had an emergency department visit or been hospitalized for an asthma exacerbation have a follow-up assessment within 2-7 days after discharge.
Supporting Documents
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Patient guide for this quality standard
Know what to ask for in your care
Placemat for this quality standard
A quick-reference resource for clinicians that summarizes the quality standard and includes links to helpful resources and tools
Quality improvement tools and resources for health care professionals, including an action plan template
Supplementary information to support the data collection and measurement process
Additional Resources
If you would like to receive the resources listed below, please send us a message using our contact form:
- Case for improvement (slide deck)
Share why this standard was created and the data behind it, to get the support you need to put it into practice - Technical specifications
See the technical specifications for the indicators within the quality standard - Information documents
- Using Race-Neutral Equations to Interpret Spirometry: Information for Clinicians
- Race-Neutral Measurement of Lung Function: Information for People Receiving Care
- Tools to support patient care
- Summary of the public feedback we received
- Case for improvement (slide deck)
Last Updated: February 24, 2026
