Patient-Clinician Relationship: Improving Health Outcomes in Populations that Experience Health Care Disparities (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR 22 064

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 22 064

The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), under the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is offering an R01 grant opportunity titled "Patient-Clinician Relationship: Improving Health Outcomes in Populations that Experience Health Care Disparities (Clinical Trial Optional)" (Funding Opportunity Number PAR-22-064). The central aim is to fund innovative research that explains and improves how patient-clinician relationships and communication influence health care processes and outcomes for groups that experience health disparities. The opportunity is built around the idea that the quality of interaction between patients and clinicians (including trust, shared understanding, respect, and communication effectiveness) can shape real outcomes such as adherence, satisfaction, use of preventive services, timely follow-up, care continuity, and ultimately morbidity and mortality, especially in settings where disparities are persistent.

Projects are expected to be multi-disciplinary and multi-level. "Multi-disciplinary" means applicants can integrate perspectives and methods from behavioral science, biology, environmental health, social science, and cultural studies, among others. "Multi-level" means the research can address not only the patient or the clinician in isolation, but also the relationship between them and the broader context that affects that relationship. Examples of levels mentioned include patient, clinician, interpersonal dynamics, and community context. In practice, a competitive application would typically move beyond describing communication problems to testing mechanisms and solutions: for instance, how structural barriers, cultural mismatch, implicit bias, time pressure, language differences, health literacy, digital access, clinic workflow, or community norms affect communication quality, and which strategies measurably improve outcomes for disparity-affected populations.

The funding mechanism is an NIH R01 research project grant, and clinical trials are optional, meaning applicants may propose either observational/mechanistic studies or interventional studies that meet NIH's definition of a clinical trial. The opportunity is categorized as discretionary and falls under a health funding activity category, with CFDA numbers listed as 93.173, 93.307, 93.313, and 93.846. The posting highlights NIMHD's intent to support research that is not only descriptive but also designed to "understand and address" the effects of optimizing relationships and communication, which signals interest in actionable findings, intervention development, or implementation-relevant approaches that can be translated into real-world care improvements.

Eligibility is broad and includes many domestic U.S. organizational types. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; Native American tribal organizations other than federally recognized tribal governments; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses. The announcement also explicitly highlights additional eligible applicant categories such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, Indian/Native American tribal governments other than federally recognized, and U.S. territories or possessions. This emphasis signals that NIMHD is open to (and may be particularly interested in) proposals that are closely connected to the communities experiencing disparities and that are led by or meaningfully partnered with institutions serving those communities.

At the same time, there are clear restrictions related to foreign involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign institutions) are not eligible to apply. Non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. In addition, foreign components, as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are not allowed. In other words, the applicant organization must be U.S.-based, and the funded work must not include foreign components under NIH policy, which effectively confines the research activities and organizational structures to domestic settings.

The opportunity lists an original closing date of January 7, 2025, and the creation date of the opportunity record is November 16, 2021. An award ceiling is not specified in the provided data, and the expected number of awards is also not listed, which typically means applicants should consult the full funding opportunity announcement and NIH policies for budget expectations, project period norms, and any institute-specific budget guidance. Overall, this R01 is aimed at generating rigorous evidence on how better patient-clinician relationships and communication can be engineered, supported, and sustained in health care environments to reduce disparities and improve outcomes for populations that have historically received inequitable care.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Patient-Clinician Relationship: Improving Health Outcomes in Populations that Experience Health Care Disparities (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.173, 93.307, 93.313, 93.846.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-11-16.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-01-07. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

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