Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS)
and Human Services (HHS)
EXPIRED
May 26, 2021
PA-20-183 - Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Required)
PA-20-185 - NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
PA-20-200 - NIH Small Research Grant Program (Parent R03 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
PA-20-195 - NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program (Parent R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
Purpose
Invite basic science, clinical researchers, behavioral scientists and implementation science experts either as individual or as multi-disciplinary teams, to submit research projects that will identify risk-reduction strategies that address infant mortality domestically , as well as efforts to understand the root causes of sudden infant death syndrome and sudden unexpected infant death.
Background
Sleep-related infant deaths, also called sudden unexpected infant deaths (SUID), are the leading cause of mortality for infants between one month and one year of age, causing ~3,500 infant deaths in the United States annually. Among the infants that die of SUID, approximately a quarter of the deaths result from accidental suffocation or strangulation, while the remainder are equally classified as sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) or an unknown cause.
Although SIDS rates have declined by almost 75% over the past two decades, SIDS, unknown/unexplained infant death, and accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed comprise the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th most common causes of overall infant mortality annually. SIDS remained the leading cause of postneonatal (28 days to 1 year of age) mortality in 2019.
The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development was instrumental in the launch of the Back to Sleep initiative and has remained central to the efforts around SUIDS and SIDS reduction, in collaboration HHS partners, agencies, academia, and the scientific community.Rates in the U.S have declined over the past two decades starting in 1990 with the release of American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations for safe infant sleep. The Back to Sleep campaign, now known as Safe to Sleep, is a messaging campaign targeting parents , care givers and health care professionals on strategies to reduce the risk of SIDS or SUIDS through adoption of safe sleep practices.
The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development has served as the convener of collaborative activities through the Safe to Sleep Campaign Program Collaborators Model. The activity provides a platform to operationalize the campaign’s strategic plan by making key decisions about priority activities, collaborative projects, and combined resources with our partners, to provide the greatest benefit to infants and families across the United States.
Although standardized guidelines for conducting thorough case investigations have been developed, guidelines have not been uniformly adopted across the more than 2000 US medical examiner and coroner jurisdictions. In January 2022, the 11th Revision of the ICD (ICD-11) will officially go into effect among WHO member states. An international group of experts have proposed changes to the ICD to better define the SUID diagnostic codes and their meanings. This proposal is currently under review. More research is needed to support the classification and accurate reporting among certifiers that report the incidence of SUID and SIDS.
SIDS rates vary dramatically by state in the US with the highest burden in the District Of Columbia and Mississippi. Studies have indicated factors such as poverty, unemployment, housing instability, and domestic violence are associated with increased prevalence ofSIDS.These factors are also highly correlated with race/ethnicity. Research targeted towards the intersection between the social and behavioral drivers in the context of race/ethnicity through strategies that address both modifiable and non-modifiable risk have the potential to lead to improved understanding of most effective strategies to promote adoption of safe infant sleep practices among various populations.
The pathophysiology of SIDS is complex and multifactorial with the triple risk model being the most widely accepted conceptual framework of SIDS pathogenesis. This model proposes SIDS occurs when an infant with intrinsic vulnerability (often manifested by impaired arousal, cardiorespiratory, and autonomic responses) undergoes an exogenous trigger event (which often creates a hypoxic or hypercarbic environment) during a critical developmental period ( 4 12 months of age ).The most common intrinsic vulnerabilities recognized to date include in utero environmental conditions, maldevelopment or delay in maturation, and genetically determined conditions. The brainstem plays a key role in coordinating many respiratory, arousal, and autonomic functions, and when dysfunctional, might prevent normal protective responses to stressors that commonly occur during sleep. Basic science research towards the genetics and pathophysiology of SIDS needs to be expanded.
Scope of work to be performed :
Application and Submission Information
This notice applies to standard due dates starting with cycle III, 2021 (after June 16, 2021) and subsequent receipt dates through May 8, 2023.
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.
All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and the funding opportunity announcement used for submission must be followed, with the following additions:
Applications nonresponsive to terms of this NOSI will not be considered for the NOSI initiative.
Scientific/Research Contact(s)
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Telephone: 301-435-6873
Email: kosomari@mail.nih.gov