Project Grant K23HL188579

The National Institutes of Health National Heart Lung and Blood Institute awarded the Regents of the University of California, San Francisco $168,025 on September 1, 2026, under the Cardiovascular Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.837) to develop and pilot test an intervention for as-needed follow-up care for children with bronchiolitis discharged from emergency departments.

The research addresses comparative effectiveness of two common post-discharge follow-up practices: routinely scheduled primary care clinic visits versus as-needed visits triggered only by clinical deterioration or new concerns. The project will refine an intervention for as-needed follow-up using input from multiple stakeholders and assess the feasibility of conducting a randomized trial comparing these two approaches. Current practice patterns result in substantial medical costs, parental work absences, and primary care clinic crowding, while observational evidence suggests routine follow-up visits may not prevent hospital revisits and can lead to potentially harmful treatments such as unnecessary antibiotics.

The award is a Project Grant with a period of performance extending from September 1, 2026, to May 31, 2031. Work is performed in Oakland, California.