Pediatric asthma as a population health challenge

Certain health care challenges pose unique threats to our most vulnerable children, especially under-resourced and minority children living in large urban environments like Washington, D.C. Asthma is by far the most common chronic disease of childhood, and it disproportionately affect at-risk urban children, creating a classic population health problem requiring multi-faceted interventions that “do things better while doing better things.” IMPACT DC (Improving Pediatric Asthma Care in the District of Columbia) has existed since 2001, and it provides a useful model of how a highly collaborative, multi-disciplinary and novel approach to research, care, advocacy and education can improve outcomes for our most vulnerable children in those environments where they live, learn and play.