Conducting Rural Health Research, Needs Assessments, and Program Evaluations – Funding & Opportunities

VA Rural Health Career Development Award (RHCDA)
Funding to support early career investigators in developing a research program focused on issues of relevance to rural veterans.

Geographic coverage: Nationwide
Letter of Intent (Required): Oct 31, 2025
Application Deadline: Mar 6, 2026
Sponsors: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration's Office of Rural Health

NIH Extramural Loan Repayment Program
Loan repayment assistance for researchers that are not employed by the NIH. Loan repayment awards are based on an applicant's potential to build and sustain a research career, not to support specific research.

Geographic coverage: Nationwide and U.S. territories
Application Deadline: Nov 20, 2025
Sponsors: National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Technologies for Improving Minority Health and Eliminating Health Disparities (R41/R42- Clinical Trial Optional)
Funding for small businesses to develop products, processes, and services that can be used to improve minority health and/or reduce and ultimately eliminate health disparities. Technologies should be effective, affordable, and culturally acceptable.

Geographic coverage: Nationwide
Letter of Intent (Optional): Nov 9, 2025
Application Deadline: Dec 9, 2025
Sponsors: National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Firearm Injury and Mortality Prevention Research
Notice of Special Interest for research to improve understanding of the determinants of firearm injury; the identification of those at risk of firearm injury; the development, piloting, and testing of innovative interventions to prevent firearm injury and mortality; and the examination of approaches to improve the implementation of existing, evidence-based interventions to prevent firearm injury and mortality.

Geographic coverage: Nationwide and U.S. Territories
Application Deadline: Feb 5, 2026
Sponsors: National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute on Aging, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Native American Research Centers for Health (NARCH) (S06)
Offers grants for new or continued Native American Research Centers for Health, which support health-related research, research career enhancement, and research infrastructure enhancement activities to meet the health needs of American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities.

Geographic coverage: Nationwide
Letter of Intent (Optional): Jun 8, 2026
Application Deadline: Jul 8, 2026
Sponsors: Indian Health Service, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Interventions to Promote Mental Well-Being in Populations that Experience Health Disparities through Social, Cultural, and Environmental Connectedness
Notice of Special Interest for research on intervention projects to promote mental well-being and/or prevent mental health problems by fostering social, cultural, or environmental connectedness in one or more populations that experience health disparities.

Geographic coverage: Nationwide and U.S. Territories
Application Deadline: Sep 8, 2026
Sponsors: National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, National Institutes of Health

Intervention Research to Improve Native American Health (R01 and R34 Clinical Trials Optional)
Funding to support research designed to improve health in Native American populations. Proposed research may address health promotion, disease prevention, treatment, recovery, or services research to inform intervention implementation and dissemination, and it must engage tribal partners and communities.

Geographic coverage: Nationwide
Application Deadline: Jan 7, 2027
Sponsors: National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health

Community Level Interventions to Improve Minority Health and Reduce Health Disparities (R01 - Clinical Trial Optional)
Funding for research to develop and test community-level interventions to improve minority health and reduce health disparities. Populations of focus include American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, socioeconomically disadvantaged populations, and underserved rural populations, among others.

Geographic coverage: Nationwide and U.S. Territories
Application Deadline: Jan 8, 2027
Sponsors: National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Data Informed, Place-Based Community-Engaged Research to Advance Health Equity
Notice of Special Interest for community-engaged research that leverages geospatial data to probe the influence of geographic factors on disease development and health outcomes. The program goal is to use place-based research to help advance health equity in different communities, including rural communities.

Geographic coverage: Nationwide and U.S. Territories
Application Deadline: Jan 8, 2027
Sponsors: National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, National Institutes of Health

Understanding the Impact of Healthcare System and Clinician Factors on Disparities in Maternal Morbidity and Mortality (R01 - Clinical Trial Optional)
Funding for multidisciplinary and innovative intervention research to understand and address maternal morbidity and mortality in the United States.

Geographic coverage: Nationwide and U.S. Territories
Application Deadline: Jan 8, 2027
Sponsors: National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, National Institutes of Health