Deadline: 13 May 2020
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking applications to strengthen the impact of Community Health Workers on the HIV Care Continuum in the US.
The purpose of this RFA is to promote research on the use of community health workers (CHW) to improve the HIV care continuum in the United States (US). The RFA will support research on the effectiveness of scalable tools, trainings, and strategies designed to strengthen the ability of CHW to improve HIV care among people living with HIV (PLH). Research applications must incorporate a patient outcome related to the HIV care continuum, such as care engagement, antiretroviral adherence, or viral suppression. Effectiveness research that identifies the mediators and mechanisms through which CHW make impact is also encouraged, along with cost-effectiveness analyses.
Research may include but is not limited to:
- Honest community-based participatory methods that include collaborative assessment of the policy and clinical practice context as part of preliminary work to advance implementation
- Pragmatic trials of active (or augmented) CHW programs that study the impact of CHW on HIV care and adherence health outcomes
- Implementation research that translates CHW strategies with demonstrated efficacy in other locales and regions, to EHE locations
- Development and testing of interventions that leverage existing systems of CHW such as peer recovery coaches in the behavioral health field for HIV care services
- Development and testing and/or expansion of existing mHealth and virtual approaches that strengthen work of CHW, CHW- or community-based organization (CBO) programs or extend the geographic reach of CHW activities to support care engagement and medication adherence to EHE locations
- Characterization of how and why specific program elements or combination of elements provide the highest impact on targeted health outcomes for example by overcoming social stigma-related and material barriers to care among PLH
- Testing strategies for improved integration of CHW into comprehensive care teams to optimize patient care and outcomes
- Study of factors that influence how CHW draw from and impact social cohesion and its role in program success
Research objectives include but are not limited to studies that:
- Optimize initiation, engagement, re-engagement, and continued utilization of integrated and appropriate HIV and substance use disorder (SUD) prevention and treatment services
- Examine and reduce SUD and HIV treatment disparities among population groups and strategies that benefit those communities
- Utilize the best mix and model of technology and CHW to increase demographic reach and geographic scope to enhance/optimize SUD and HIV prevention and treatment services
- Utilize evidence-based Interventions and strategies that use implementation science to scale up and maximize the sustainability of effective SUD and HIV treatment methods
Funding Information
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $3,000,000
- Award Ceiling: $500,000
- Award Project Period: Up to 4 years
Eligibility Criteria
Eligible Organizations
- 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)
- 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)
- 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
Foreign Institutions
- Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions) are not eligible to apply.
- Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible to apply.
- Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are not allowed.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=325061