Promoting Viral Suppression among Individuals from Health Disparity Populations Engaged in HIV Care (R01 Clinical Trial Required)

Background
The Department of Health and Human Services, specifically the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), is issuing a grant opportunity to support research projects aimed at testing interventions to promote antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation, ART adherence, and suppressed viral load for people living with HIV (PLWH) from health disparity populations who live in geographic areas with a high rate of new HIV infections and are engaged in HIV care. The objective is to reduce new HIV infections in the United States by implementing proven strategies to prevent new HIV infections.

Grant Details
The initiative will support research projects to test interventions to promote ART initiation, ART adherence, and suppressed viral load for PLWH engaged in HIV care in one or more geographic hotspots. The interventions are expected to be based in HIV care settings, delivered by personnel from the care setting or collaborating service providers, simultaneously promote ART initiation/adherence and reduce high-risk sexual and/or drug use behaviors during periods of non-suppression, address multi-domain, multi-level determinants of poor ART adherence, viral non-suppression, and high-risk HIV behaviors, use direct assessment of viral load as the primary outcome, emphasize intervention effectiveness, comparative effectiveness, implementation strategies, or optimization of multi-component interventions, and examine cost-effectiveness of intervention implementation and delivery. Areas of special interest include testing interventions in multiple geographic hotspots, use of cluster randomized trials rather than individual-level clinical trials, engagement of members of the target high-risk health disparity populations or subgroups as investigators or advisors, collaboration with diverse local stakeholders to enhance intervention relevance, feasibility, and sustainability.

Eligibility Requirements
Eligible applicants include higher education institutions, nonprofits other than institutions of higher education, for-profit organizations including small businesses, local 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), U.S. territory or possession governments, 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. Foreign institutions are not eligible to apply. Applicant organizations must complete and maintain several registrations including System for Award Management (SAM), NATO Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) Code for foreign organizations if applicable.

Period of Performance
The maximum project period is 5 years.

Grant Value
NIMHD intends to commit $4 million in FY2023 to fund 4-5 awards. Application budgets are limited to $750,000 direct costs annually.

Place of Performance
The specific geographic hotspots where the intervention will be delivered should be identified based on local surveillance data regarding viral suppression. The target population(s) should also be clearly identified.