IMPACT DC Improving Pediatric Asthma Care in the District of Columbia

IMPACT DC Asthma Clinic is an award-winning pediatric asthma program in Washington, D.C., dedicated to improving asthma care and outcomes for children through clinical care, education, research and advocacy.

A disproportionately high number of children suffer from asthma in the District of Columbia. One of our main goals is to lessen the need for emergency room visits and hospital stays by educating patients and families about ways to manage the condition, and connecting them with valuable resources in the local community.

Asthma Care

The heart of the program is the IMPACT DC Asthma Clinic. The clinic sees children who have recently been to the emergency room, were hospitalized for asthma or who generally have trouble controlling their asthma.

When you and your child visit the clinic, we provide a detailed medical consultation and develop a unique care plan for your child. We then communicate and coordinate care with your child’s primary care provider, school nurse and others involved in your child’s asthma care.

Clinic staff provides individualized education about the disease and medications, and shows children how to best use their inhalers and other devices. We also explain how to identify and reduce exposure to allergens or other triggers that may cause asthma symptoms.

Outreach

We believe that community education is valuable. IMPACT DC staff participates throughout the year in community outreach, providing information through health fairs, school-based programs and other educational and advocacy events. For more information on these activities, visit our outreach homepage.

Research

Other program goals are to understand why so many children have asthma and to ultimately reduce the number of children that suffer from the disease. Since 2001, we have monitored pediatric asthma visits to emergency rooms and hospitalizations within the District of Columbia. A report with the most recent data from 2002-2011 is available online, along with additional information on current IMPACT DC research activities.

IMPACT DC serves as one of eight sites of the Inner City Asthma Consortium (ICAC), funded by the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). The Consortium’s participating sites across the country study the effectiveness of asthma therapies in children and young adults.

Our team also works closely with colleagues from the Center for Genetic Medicine Research, the Goldberg Center for Community Pediatric Health, other Children’s National divisions and community organizations.

In 2014 IMPACT DC received funding from PCORI (Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute) for a study titled Improving Asthma Outcomes through Stress Management. This study has been featured on the Children’s National Innovation District, and published in the December 2016 issue of The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.