Deadline: 07-Sep-24
The Department of Health and Human Services and National Institutes of Health has announced the Implementing and Sustaining Evidence-Based Mental Health Practices in Low-Resource Settings to Achieve Equity in Outcomes.
Objective: This initiative supports pilot work in support of subsequent studies testing the effectiveness of strategies to deliver EBPs in low-resource settings in the United States, in order to reduce disparities in mental health and related functional outcomes (e.g., employment, educational attainment, stable housing, integration in the community, treatment of co-morbid substance use disorders) for the population(s) served. Of interest are settings where a significant number of children, youth, adults, or older adults with or at risk for mental illnesses can be found and evidence-based mental health treatments or services are not currently delivered.
Goal: The goal of this initiative is to conduct pilot work in support of subsequent studies that develop and test the effectiveness of scalable implementation strategies to achieve delivery of EBPs with high fidelity in low-resource settings and significantly improve clinical and functional outcomes toward greater equity with outcomes documented in the general population.
For the purposes of this FOA, NIMH uses the following definitions:
- low-resourced settings are settings in which limited capital and human resources create barriers to meeting the mental health care needs of the population being served
- evidence-based practices are treatments or services that integrate the best clinical research evidence with clinical expertise and patient values for care delivery
- under-served populations include members of minority groups or other individuals experiencing disparities in mental health outcomes, including Latinx populations, African American populations, American Indian/Alaskan Native populations, refugees, individuals with Limited English Proficiency (LEP), individuals with disabilities, persons from sexual and gender minority groups, etc. Also included are: people living in a geographic area with a shortage of health care services (e.g., rural or frontier areas); groups that face economic barriers to health care; individuals who are homeless or unstably housed; persons who are incarcerated, detained, under community supervision, or recently released from incarceration, and people with serious mental illness.
Areas of Interest
Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:
- Testing the effectiveness of strategies to achieve EBP delivery and sustainment through training and support for existing personnel in the targeted setting(s) (e.g., testing the impact of alternative content, modalities or “doses” of training, supervision and/or organizational realignment)
- Testing the effectiveness of strategies to achieve EBP delivery and sustainment through integrated E-health, M-health, internet or other types of technology
- Testing the effectiveness of strategies to achieve EBP delivery and sustainment through cross-system collaboration that brings EBP-trained interventionists or related expertise from affiliated systems into the targeted setting(s) (e.g. community mental health system case managers’ “in-reach” to incarceration settings to facilitate evidence-based community re-entry)
- Testing the effectiveness of strategies to impact organizational structure, climate, culture and processes to achieve implementation and sustainment
- Strategies to enable sustained delivery by reducing burn-out and turnover of trained staff to maintain organizational capacity and fidelity of delivery
- Studies of policies and/or service system organization or prioritization that influence the success of on-going implementation and delivery to improve outcomes
- Studies of the contribution of community participation and other types of partnerships in the successful engagement of clients in receipt of EBPs
- Strategies designed to overcome resource challenges associated with delivery/receipt/sustainment of EBPs in under-resourced settings
- Studies to test the effectiveness of implementing components of the learning health care system model, including but not limited to: provider feedback, continuous quality improvement, service coordination, etc., to achieve sustained EBP delivery and client engagement
- Studies to test the effectiveness of evidence-based data harmonization across service-providing agencies (e.g., mental health, social services, foster care, elder care, aspects of the law enforcement and corrections systems) to foster retention in care and care coordination in support of EBP delivery
- Studies of the effectiveness of strategies targeting the provider- or clinic-level factors that support sustained delivery of EBPs. Proposed studies should be statistically powered to provide a definitive test of the implementation strategy’s effectiveness in comparison to usual care practices in the setting.
Funding Information
- Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards: NIMH intends to commit $2,000,000 in FY 2022 to fund successful applications to this and the companion R01 announcement, up to 4-5 awards.
- Award Budget: Direct costs are limited to $225,000 per year and $450,000 over the 3-year project period.
- Award Project Period: Project period cannot exceed three years.
Eligibility Criteria
- Higher Education Institutions
- Public/State Controlled Institutions of Higher Education
- Private Institutions of Higher Education
- The following types of Higher Education Institutions are always encouraged to apply for NIH support as Public or Private Institutions of Higher Education:
- Hispanic-serving Institutions
- Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
- Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs)
- Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions
- Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs)
- Nonprofits Other Than Institutions of Higher Education
- Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Higher Education)
- Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Higher Education)
- For-Profit Organizations
- Small Businesses
- For-Profit Organizations (Other than Small Businesses)
- Local Governments
- State Governments
- County Governments
- City or Township Governments
- Special District Governments
- Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Federally Recognized)
- Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Other than Federally Recognized)
- Federal Governments
- Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government
- U.S. Territory or Possession
- Other
- Independent School Districts
- Public Housing Authorities/Indian Housing Authorities
- Native American Tribal Organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
- Faith-based or Community-based Organizations
- Regional Organizations
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=335080