Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Mortality of Adolescents, Young Adults, and Other NICHD Priority Populations in the United States
Notice Number:
NOT-HD-23-001

Key Dates

Release Date:

February 15, 2023

First Available Due Date:
June 05, 2023
Expiration Date:
September 08, 2024

Related Announcements

PA-20-185 - NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

PA-20-183 - Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Required)

PA-20-184 - Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Basic Experimental Studies with Humans Required)

PA-20-194 - NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program (Parent R21 Clinical Trial Required)

PA-20-195 - NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program (Parent R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

PA-20-196 - NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program (Parent R21 Basic Experimental Studies with Humans Required)

PA-20-200 - NIH Small Research Grant Program (Parent R03 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

PA-21-221 - NICHD Small Research Grant Program (R03 Clinical Trial Required)

PA-21-231 - NICHD Small Research Grant Program (R03 Basic Experimental Studies with Humans Required)

PAR-21-155 - Academic Research Enhancement Award for Undergraduate-Focused Institutions (R15 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

PAR-21-154 - Academic Research Enhancement Award for Undergraduate-Focused Institutions (R15 Clinical Trial Required)

PAR-21-357 - Research Enhancement Award Program (REAP) for Health Professional Schools and Graduate Schools (R15 Clinical Trial Required)

PAR-22-060 - Research Enhancement Award Program (REAP) for Health Professional Schools and Graduate Schools (R15 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

PA-20-176 - Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (Parent K01 - Independent Clinical Trial Required)

PA-20-191 - Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (Parent K01 - Independent Basic Experimental Studies with Humans Required)

PA-20-190 - Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (Parent K01 - Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

Issued by

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

All applications to this funding opportunity announcement should fall within the mission of the Institutes/Centers. The following NIH Offices may co-fund applications assigned to those Institutes/Centers.

Division of Program Coordination, Planning and Strategic Initiatives, Office of Disease Prevention (ODP)

Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH)

Sexual and Gender Minority Research Office (SGMRO)

Purpose

The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) is issuing this Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) to invite applications to:

  • Identify mechanisms, causes, correlates, and modifiable risk factors underlying recent trends in mortality during adolescence and young adulthood. Trends to be examined include the growing inequalities in overall mortality and by cause of death and manner of death (natural, unintentional and intentional injuries, including suicide and homicide, and undetermined), with attention to race, ethnicity, sex, gender, age, disability status, as well as family structure and living arrangements, income, education, and geographic location.
  • Examine trends in mortality among individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities with a particular interest in studies that identify mechanisms, explanations, and modifiable risk factors.
  • Improve the accuracy and granularity of cause of death coding, especially for individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities, and to improve the accuracy of manner of death coding, particularly across unintentional and intentional injuries, including suicide and homicide, for adolescents and young adults as well as for individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities.
  • Improve research on mortality among youth populations of all sexual orientations and gender identities especially for suicide and homicide, and other intentional and unintentional injuries.
  • Examine the impact of rising mortality among adolescents, adolescents transitioning to adulthood and young adults on the health and development of the population, including demographic factors such as fertility and nuptiality, on the health and development of decedents' offspring and other family members, and on the health, development, and well-being of populations of interest to the NICHD is of high program priority.

The NICHD populations of interest that are the focus of this Notice are adolescents, young adults, and individuals with intellectual, developmental, or physical disabilities. For information on the NICHD Strategic Plan 2020 (https://www.nichd.nih.gov/about/org/strategicplan)

Background

The NICHD has a long-term interest in research on adolescent and young adult mortality in the United States. This Notice is meant to formally establish that research on these topics is of high programmatic interest to the NICHD. While there has been extensive research on infant mortality, mortality among the elderly, and those in late middle age, as well as a growing body of research on maternal mortality, research has been lagging on many NICHD populations of interest, including adolescents, young adults, and individuals with intellectual, developmental, or physical disabilities.

Scope

Comparative research on mortality in the United States versus other countries is within the scope of this initiative. Research that does not include a major U.S. component is not within scope.

Research on factors affecting mortality at earlier ages and comparing trends and disparities in mortality among adolescents and young adults with other age groups are all encouraged, but the focus of the research must be on adolescents and young adults. Likewise, research on historical trends in adolescent and young adult mortality is within scope if historic trends are compared with recent trends in mortality.

Research examining how changing patterns of disease and disability affect mortality is within scope, but only if the focus is on mortality as an outcome.

Research capitalizing on existing data sets is encouraged, including NICHD-funded data sources with life history and geographic information such as the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent and Adult Health (Add Health, https://addhealth.cpc.unc.edu/); the Fragile Families and Well-being Study (FFWS, https://fragilefamilies.princeton.edu/); the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1979 (NLSY79, https://www.nlsinfo.org/content/cohorts/nlsy79); and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID, https://psidonline.isr.umich.edu/). Another example is the National Death Index (NDI, https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/ndi/index.htm) (Researchers interested in using the NDI should refer to NOT-OD-20-057, Notice of Information: National Death Index Linkage Access for NIH-Supported Investigators, https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-20-057.html). Other examples include existing disease and condition registries such as those listed below, as well as relevant studies in the NICHD DASH data repository (https://dash.nichd.nih.gov/):.

Research on increasing disparities in deaths due to suicide, homicide, motor vehicle crashes, and other intentional and unintentional injury causes is encouraged.

Methodological research on improving accuracy of mortality and cause and manner of death data, along with the accuracy of other data needed to identify disparities in mortality is within scope.

Examples of topics within the scope of this initiative include, but are not limited, to:

  • Research on the extent to which levels, changes, and disparities in maternal and post-partum mortality and in mortality among individuals with intellectual or physical disabilities are similar to or different from those of overall adolescent and young adult population.
  • Research to improve the accuracy and granularity of cause of death coding.
  • Research on the COVID-related risks and mitigation factors for adolescents and young adults, including adults with disability, especially those with Down Syndrome.
  • Research linking information from disease or condition registries (e.g., traumatic brain injury (TBI), spinal cord injuries (SCI), drowning, poisoning, Cerebral Palsy (CP), and burn injuries) with information from the National Death Index.
  • Research on how access to health care affects mortality, especially youth in low-resourced communities and for individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities.
  • For adolescents/young adults with chronic physical/medical conditions or Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD), whether the transition from pediatric to adult care increases or decreases the risk of death; and/or identifying the characteristics of the transition or the individual that explain this increase or decrease in mortality.

Research areas that are not within the scope of this NOSI:

  • Research primarily focused on the elderly or other populations that are not included as NICHD populations of interest for this Notice in the PURPOSE section.
  • Analyses on causes of death that are solely associated with diseases and conditions that are within the scope of other NIH Institutes or Centers.
  • Research only involving populations outside of the United States.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to discuss potential applications with the Scientific/Research Contact listed below before submitting their application.

Application and Submission Information

This notice applies to due dates on or after June 5, 2023 and subsequent receipt dates through September 8, 2024.

Submit applications for this initiative using one of the following funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) or any reissues of these announcement through the expiration date of this notice.

  • PA-20-185 - NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
  • PA-20-183 - Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Required)
  • PA-20-184 - Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Basic Experimental Studies with Humans Required)
  • PA-20-194 - NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program (Parent R21 Clinical Trial Required)
  • PA-20-195 - NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program (Parent R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
  • PA-20-196 - NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program (Parent R21 Basic Experimental Studies with Humans Required)
  • PA-20-200 - NIH Small Research Grant Program (Parent R03 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
  • PA-21-221 - NICHD Small Research Grant Program (R03 Clinical Trial Required)
  • PA-21-231 - NICHD Small Research Grant Program (R03 Basic Experimental Studies with Humans Required)
  • PAR-21-155 - Academic Research Enhancement Award for Undergraduate-Focused Institutions (R15 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
  • PAR-21-154 - Academic Research Enhancement Award for Undergraduate-Focused Institutions (R15 Clinical Trial Required)
  • PAR-21-357 - Research Enhancement Award Program (REAP) for Health Professional Schools and Graduate Schools (R15 Clinical Trial Required)
  • PAR-22-060 - Research Enhancement Award Program (REAP) for Health Professional Schools and Graduate Schools (R15 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
  • PA-20-176 - Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (Parent K01 - Independent Clinical Trial Required)
  • PA-20-191 - Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (Parent K01 - Independent Basic Experimental Studies with Humans Required)
  • PA-20-190 - Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (Parent K01 - Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and the funding opportunity announcement used for submission must be followed, with the following additions:

  • For funding consideration, applicants must include NOT-HD-23-001 (without quotation marks) in the Agency Routing Identifier field (box 4B) of the SF424 R&R form. Applications without this information in box 4B will not be considered for this initiative.

Applications nonresponsive to terms of this NOSI will not be considered for the NOSI initiative.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to the contacts in Section VII of the listed funding opportunity announcements with the following additions/substitutions:

Scientific/Research Contact(s)

Juanita J. Chinn, PhD
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
Telephone: 301-827-4901
Email: juanita.chinn@nih.gov