Leveraging Health Information Technology (Health IT) to Address Minority Health and Health Disparities (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR 19 093

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 19 093

The NIH funding opportunity titled "Leveraging Health Information Technology (Health IT) to Address Minority Health and Health Disparities (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)" (PAR 19-093) is a discretionary grant program designed to support research on how the adoption and use of health information technology affects populations that experience minority health concerns and health disparities. The core intent is to generate evidence about whether, where, and for whom Health IT improves (or potentially worsens) access to care, quality of care, patient engagement, and health outcomes. In practical terms, the FOA is looking for studies that move beyond general claims that technology is helpful and instead examine real-world impacts of tools such as electronic health records, patient portals, telehealth platforms, clinical decision support systems, health information exchange, mobile health applications, and related digital infrastructure as these tools are implemented in systems serving disparity-affected communities.

A central theme of the opportunity is equity-focused evaluation of Health IT adoption. Applicants are expected to explore how technology is taken up by health care organizations and by patients, and how that adoption translates into measurable changes in care processes and outcomes for minority and underserved groups. That can include looking at barriers like digital literacy, language access, trust, broadband availability, usability, accessibility for disability, cost burdens, and workflow constraints in under-resourced clinical settings. It also includes assessing whether Health IT reduces gaps (for example, by improving preventive service delivery or chronic disease monitoring) or unintentionally introduces new disparities (for example, if portal use concentrates among higher-income or English-speaking patients). Because the mechanism is an R01 and clinical trials are optional, the FOA accommodates a range of rigorous designs, including observational studies, implementation research, quasi-experimental evaluations, and intervention studies where appropriate.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based organizations that can conduct health research. Eligible applicants listed for the opportunity include state, county, city or township, and special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private 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; nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and other qualifying entities. The FOA also explicitly highlights additional eligible applicant types that often have strong connections to disparity-impacted communities, such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs). It further notes that faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, Indian/Native American tribal governments other than federally recognized, and U.S. territories or possessions may also be eligible to apply, reinforcing the program's interest in research rooted in real community and health system contexts.

At the same time, the FOA places clear restrictions on foreign involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components (as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement) are not allowed. In other words, the work must be fully domestic in terms of applicant organization and project components, aligning the program with U.S. minority health and health disparities priorities and ensuring the research is conducted within U.S. settings and systems.

Administratively, the opportunity is issued by the National Institutes of Health under the grant funding instrument and falls under the Education and Health activity category, with CFDA numbers 93.307 and 93.399. The source information shows a creation date of November 28, 2018, and an original closing date of March 4, 2021. An award ceiling and expected number of awards are not specified in the provided data, which often means applicants must rely on NIH institute participation details and typical R01 budgeting norms when planning project scope and cost. Overall, the FOA is best understood as an NIH-backed push to build actionable, evidence-based knowledge about how Health IT can be implemented and used in ways that meaningfully reduce disparities rather than simply digitize existing inequities.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Leveraging Health Information Technology (Health IT) to Address Minority Health and Health Disparities (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.307, 93.399.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-11-28.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-03-04. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• 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.

Apply for PAR 19 093

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