Addressing Health Disparities through Effective Interventions Among Immigrant Populations (R21 Clinical Trial Optional) | PA 18 285

Opportunity Information: Apply for PA 18 285

This National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity, titled "Addressing Health Disparities through Effective Interventions Among Immigrant Populations (R21 Clinical Trial Optional)" (FOA number PA 18-285), supports early-stage, exploratory research aimed at reducing health disparities experienced by immigrant communities in the United States. The emphasis is on innovative, developmental projects that either create new interventions or adapt and refine existing ones for immigrant populations, with a clear expectation that applicants will test whether the proposed approach is feasible and promising enough to justify larger, later-stage studies. Because it uses the NIH R21 mechanism, the projects are meant to be relatively short-term and focused on proof-of-concept, pilot work, and initial feasibility testing rather than large, definitive effectiveness trials. Clinical trials are allowed but not required, which gives applicants flexibility to propose interventions that range from community-based strategies to healthcare delivery innovations, as long as they are designed to address measurable disparities affecting immigrants.

The goal of the announcement is to speed up the development of practical, evidence-informed solutions for health inequities linked to immigration-related factors. In practice, this typically includes disparities driven by barriers such as language access, cultural differences, discrimination, limited access to preventive care, unfamiliarity with the U.S. healthcare system, immigration status-related fear or stress, and social and economic pressures that disproportionately affect immigrant families. Projects under this FOA are expected to focus on intervention development and feasibility outcomes (for example, recruitment and retention of immigrant participants, acceptability of the intervention, fidelity of delivery, preliminary signals of benefit, and the practicality of implementing the program in real-world settings that immigrants actually use). The funding activity categories connected to the opportunity include education, environment, and health, reflecting the idea that effective interventions may need to work across clinical care and broader community or structural contexts.

A wide range of applicants are eligible, reflecting NIH interest in partnerships across research, service delivery, and community organizations. Eligible applicant types include state, county, 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; tribal organizations other than federally recognized tribal governments; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education in those nonprofit categories); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The FOA also highlights additional eligible groups and institution types such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), faith-based or community-based organizations, Hispanic-serving institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, and U.S. territories or possessions. This broad eligibility is meant to encourage applications from organizations that already have trusted relationships with immigrant communities and can build interventions that fit local needs and realities.

There are important restrictions related to non-U.S. entities. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities, described as foreign organizations or foreign institutions, are not eligible to apply directly. In addition, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. At the same time, the announcement allows "foreign components" as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, meaning a U.S.-based applicant may include certain project elements conducted outside the United States when scientifically justified and compliant with NIH policy. Practically, this can matter for interventions that involve cross-border family dynamics, pre-migration experiences, or culturally grounded approaches that require collaboration with experts or resources outside the U.S., while keeping the applicant organization and primary award structure domestic.

In terms of funding parameters, the opportunity is a discretionary grant program administered by NIH, with activity tied to CFDA numbers 93.113, 93.273, 93.279, 93.307, and 93.399. The listed award ceiling is $200,000, consistent with the smaller, exploratory nature of R21 projects. The original closing date shown in the source data is January 7, 2020, and the FOA was created on November 1, 2017; those dates are useful for historical reference, though anyone considering a submission would need to confirm current NIH availability or successor announcements. Overall, the program is designed for investigators and community partners who want to move quickly from an idea to an initial, workable intervention model that can be tested for feasibility among immigrant populations and then scaled up through future funding if early results support it.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, environment, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Addressing Health Disparities through Effective Interventions Among Immigrant Populations (R21 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.113, 93.273, 93.279, 93.307, 93.399.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-11-01.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-01-07. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $200,000.00 in funding.
• 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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