R01HD104529

Effects of Altering Social Connectedness on Health - Project Summary

Social life profoundly influences health. The ability to treat and prevent illness and improve human health therefore requires a detailed understanding of the complex mechanisms underlying the influence of social complexity on biological systems. Such understanding is key to the development of new interventions to improve public health.

Past studies have demonstrated the critical contribution of social relationships in shaping health outcomes but are limited in application because such studies rarely consider social support or health as "complex systems". As a result, we lack a deep understanding of how and why individuals within families, and families within communities, remain healthy or become unhealthy in the context of their social environments.

In this application, our proposed research overcomes this limitation by adopting an intervention-based experimental and computational systems science approach that provides methods uniquely suited to elucidate the complex mechanisms by which social systems influence health. We will model the short- and longer-term integrative effects of social life on health in a proven nonhuman primate model.

Davis University Of California

TO CONDUCT AND SUPPORT LABORATORY RESEARCH, CLINICAL TRIALS, AND STUDIES WITH PEOPLE THAT EXPLORE HEALTH PROCESSES. NICHD RESEARCHERS EXAMINE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT, BIOLOGIC AND REPRODUCTIVE FUNCTIONS, BEHAVIOR PATTERNS, AND POPULATION DYNAMICS TO PROTECT AND MAINTAIN THE HEALTH OF ALL PEOPLE. TO EXAMINE THE IMPACT OF DISABILITIES, DISEASES, AND DEFECTS ON THE LIVES OF INDIVIDUALS. WITH THIS INFORMATION, THE NICHD HOPES TO RESTORE, INCREASE, AND MAXIMIZE THE CAPABILITIES OF PEOPLE AFFECTED BY DISEASE AND INJURY. TO SPONSOR TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR SCIENTISTS, DOCTORS, AND RESEARCHERS TO ENSURE THAT NICHD RESEARCH CAN CONTINUE. BY TRAINING THESE PROFESSIONALS IN THE LATEST RESEARCH METHODS AND TECHNOLOGIES, THE NICHD WILL BE ABLE TO CONDUCT ITS RESEARCH AND MAKE HEALTH RESEARCH PROGRESS UNTIL ALL CHILDREN, ADULTS, FAMILIES, AND POPULATIONS ENJOY GOOD HEALTH. THE MISSION OF THE NICHD IS TO ENSURE THAT EVERY PERSON IS BORN HEALTHY AND WANTED, THAT WOMEN SUFFER NO HARMFUL EFFECTS FROM REPRODUCTIVE PROCESSES, AND THAT ALL CHILDREN HAVE THE CHANCE TO ACHIEVE THEIR FULL POTENTIAL FOR HEALTHY AND PRODUCTIVE LIVES, FREE FROM DISEASE OR DISABILITY, AND TO ENSURE THE HEALTH, PRODUCTIVITY, INDEPENDENCE, AND WELL-BEING OF ALL PEOPLE THROUGH OPTIMAL REHABILITATION.

93.865 - Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) [HHS - NIH]

Davis, California 95616 United States

Single Zip Code

Research on biopsychosocial factors of social connectedness and isolation on health, wellbeing, illness, and recovery (R01 Clinical Trials Not Allowed) (PAR-19-373)

Amendment Since initial award the End Date has been extended from 02/28/26 to 02/28/27 and the total obligations have increased 454% from $663,515 to $3,673,919.