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Divya Clement


Divya

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The Challenge

Despite having detailed Asthma Action Plans, families still struggle to confidently manage their child's asthma symptoms before they become emergencies. Parents often can't identify which symptom severity "zone" their child is in, forget critical medication steps under stress, and struggle to coordinate care across multiple caregivers—leading to preventable hospitalizations for a largely controllable condition.

Our Approach

Working directly with IMPACT DC's pediatric asthma program, we conducted extensive research with families, clinicians, and school staff to understand the real barriers to effective asthma management, then designed a mobile app to bridge these critical gaps.

Team

  • My Role: Co-Founder & Lead Designer

  • Co-Founder: Nikita Kachroo (IMPACT DC Program Manager)

  • Partners: IMPACT DC Pediatric Asthma Clinic, Northeastern University IDEA, Scout Student-Led Design Studio, Children's National Hospital

Timeline

  • Fall 2018 – Initial user research - shadowed appointments at IMPACT DC Clinic.

  • Winter 2019 – Won 1st place during Health Hackathon at Children’s National Hospital in DC, gaining funding for development and institutional support.

  • Spring 2019 – Completed first BreatheEasy prototype and secured funding from Northeastern’s Prototype Fund.

  • Winter 2020 – IRB approval pending for testing the mobile app with patients at IMPACT DC.

  • Spring 2020 - paused research indefinetly due to COVID-19 Pandemic.

Research

12

Interviews with Families

2

Interviews with School Nurses

3

Interviews with Pediatricians*

6

Intake Appointments Shadowed*

7

Follow-Up Appointments Shadowed*

12

3

6

7

2

Interviews with Families

Interviews with Pediatricians*

Intake Appointments Shadowed*

Follow-Up Appointments Shadowed*

Interviews with School Nurses

*Research took place at IMPACT DC Pediatric Asthma Clinic in Washington D.C.

Insights

Through 12 family interviews, 6 clinician interviews, and 13 shadowed appointments, we discovered that having an Asthma Action Plan isn't enough. Families consistently struggled with three critical moments:

🧭 Daily Treatment Confusion: Caregivers misclassify symptoms and treatment zones, leading to incorrect medication use when it matters most.

👩‍👧‍👦 Complex Care Coordination: Parents managing multiple asthmatic children can't easily share up-to-date treatment plans with separated parents, school nurses, babysitters, and coaches.

🚧 Information Barriers: Families don't have the right information at the right time—plans are outdated, inaccessible, or filled with medical jargon that's hard to understand under stress.

Key Design Decision: Focus on Caregivers First

We chose to design for parents and adult caregivers rather than children themselves because:

  • Adults manage medications, track symptoms, and make care decisions (especially for younger children)

  • An adult-focused app can still be used by older, self-managing children

  • Caregivers handle the most complex use cases: multi-child management, medication schedules, and care coordination

Critical Design Decision: Focus on Caregivers First

We chose to design for parents and adult caregivers rather than children themselves because:

  • Adults manage medications, track symptoms, and make care decisions (especially for younger children)

  • An adult-focused app can still be used by older, self-managing children

  • Caregivers handle the most complex use cases: multi-child management, medication schedules, and care coordination

MVP Features

MVP Features

Our interviews with families, clinicians, and school staff revealed critical gaps in asthma management that shaped our design:

Our interviews with families, clinicians, and school staff revealed critical gaps in asthma management that shaped our design:

  1. Guided Daily Treatment

  • Medication Reminders

  • Medication Log


  1. Flare-Up Management

  • Zone identification and status monitoring

  • Step-by-step instructions and guided assistance


  1. Education

  • Identifying and actively managing triggers

  • Medication Technique


  1. Care-Coordination

  • Communication between parent and child

  • Clinician access to data

  • Asthma Action Plan access for secondary caregivers


  1. Analytics

  • Monthly Asthma Control Test, Self-rating

  • Graphs and charts to see adherence and progress over time

previous iterations

outcomes

Our interviews with families, clinicians, and school staff revealed critical gaps in asthma management that shaped our design:

  • Immediate Recognition: Won 1st place at Children's National Healthcare Hackathon, securing institutional support and validation from leading pediatric asthma specialists.

  • Funding Success: Awarded grants from Northeastern's Prototype Fund and Children's National Health System for continued development.

  • Research Foundation: Conducted the most comprehensive user research in the pediatric asthma app space, with 30+ interviews across all stakeholder groups.

  • Partnership Network: Built collaborative relationships with IMPACT DC, university resources, and healthcare institutions to ensure clinical accuracy and real-world viability.

Note: Research was paused indefinitely in Spring 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on patient interactions.