For scientific or research questions:
Vincent A. Thomas, Jr., MSW, MPA
301.402.2516
vincent.thomasjr@nih.gov

For financial and grants management questions:
Priscilla Grant, JD
301.594.8412
grantp@mail.nih.gov

Peer review contact:
Thomas M. Vollberg, Sr., PhD
301.594.8770
vollbert@mail.nih.gov

Technologies for Improving Population Health and Eliminating Health Disparities (R41/R42) grants will award funding to develop partnerships between innovative small business concerns (SBCs) and nonprofit research institutions resulting in improving minority health and the reduction of health disparities by commercializing innovative technologies. Rural populations are included in the listed health disparities priority populations.

Technologies to be developed may be new and innovative or they may arise from existing technologies that have been redesigned based on the needs of one or more disparity populations.

To be effective, a technology must provide an improvement over current quality of care for a health disparity population by overcoming one or more of the barriers. These include:

• Physical Barriers: factors such as proximity to healthcare facilities and transportation that may limit access to healthcare
• Knowledge Barriers: health literacy and language barriers that can inhibit healthcare delivery, as well as a lack of patient information for the healthcare provider
• Infrastructure Barriers: rural hospitals and community health centers may not have the same resources and expertise of large hospitals, and may not be able to afford advanced medical technologies
• Economic Barriers: lack of insurance coverage or financial resources may also contribute to disparities in healthcare access
• Cultural Barriers: religious beliefs and social customs often deter certain populations from seeking healthcare

A detailed list of objectives and specific areas of research interest is provided in the application instructions.

U.S. small business concerns are the only eligible entities.

Award ceiling: Up to $150,000 for Phase I awards and $1,000,000 for Phase II awards
Project period: Up to 3 years

NIH provides a list of project topics that may be eligible to exceed award ceilings. Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact NIH program officials prior to submitting any application in excess of the guidelines.

Applicants are strongly encouraged, but not required, to submit a letter of intent to Thomas M. Vollberg by January 22, 2017.

Links to the full announcement and online application process are are available through grants.gov.