OBJECTIVES: Recent regulatory guidelines emphasize the importance of patient input in the development of patient reported outcome (PRO) measures that will be used as clinical trial endpoints to support labelling claims.  In asthma prevention and management, consensus among clinicians is growing regarding models of asthma control.  It is uncertain how closely patient models concur with clinical perspectives of asthma control. The objective of this research was to develop a conceptual model of asthma control based on both patient and clinician input and explore the congruence of patient and clinical perspectives. METHODS: Fifty-five patients discussed the concept of asthma control in 8 focus groups (2 each in France, Germany, UK & US). Independently two asthma specialists and two general practitioners were interviewed in each country (18 in total) about their understanding of asthma control, symptoms and treatments. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis techniques based on grounded theory, and conceptual models were developed for patient and clinician perspectives. RESULTS: When asked what asthma control meant to them, patients talked about symptoms, sleep disturbance, tiredness, rescue medication use, activity limitations, the experience of asthma attacks and experiencing panic and fear. Clinicians focussed primarily on presence and severity of symptoms and medication use, but also mentioned the ability of the patient to remain active, patients’ hospitalisation, and satisfaction with and adherence to medication as being indicators of asthma control. CONCLUSIONS: Our research suggests that patient and clinician models are complementary, but not completely consistent. Both emphasize symptom control and rescue medication use as key indicators. Patients, however, also consider emotional responses, tiredness and activity limitations as important, whereas clinicians more often considered adherence and health care utilisation. Differences in the models support the importance of including both patient and clinical perspectives when developing PRO measures for clinical trials.