MENTAL HEALTH CLINICAL TRAINING GRANTS: INDIVIDUAL FACULTY SCHOLARAWARDS



NIH GUIDE, Volume 21, Number 7, February 21, 1992



RFA AVAILABLE:  MH-92-06



P.T. 44



Keywords:

  Emotional/Mental Health 

  Schizophrenia 

  Depression 

  Psychopathology 



National Institute of Mental Health



Application Receipt Date:  April 24, 1992



THE REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS (RFA) ANNOUNCED IN THIS NOTICE CONTAINS

ESSENTIAL INFORMATION FOR THE PREPARATION OF AN APPLICATION.  POTENTIAL

APPLICANTS MAY OBTAIN THE RFA FROM THE CONTACT NAMED IN INQUIRIES

BELOW.



PURPOSE



There is a marked disparity between the need for treatment of persons

with major mental disorders and the availability of appropriately

trained mental health professionals to assess, provide, and supervise

the treatment.  For this reason, the National Institute of Mental

Health (NIMH) supports the Individual Faculty Scholar Awards program to

develop a cadre of academically based faculty scholars who will guide

the training of professionals in the core mental health disciplines

(psychiatry, social work, psychology, psychiatric nursing, and marriage

and family therapy) and who will play major leadership roles in the

continued development of their professions.



HEALTHY PEOPLE 2000



The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the health

promotion and disease prevention objectives of "Healthy People 2000".

PHS urges applicants to submit work plans that address specific

objectives of "Healthy People 2000."  Potential applicants may obtain

a copy (Full Report:  Stock Number 017-001-00474-0 or Summary Report:

Stock Number 017-001-00473-1) through the Superintendent of Documents,

Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402-9325 (telephone:

202-783-3238).



ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS



On behalf of a qualified nominee, applications may be submitted by an

academic department or professional school in a U.S. college,

university, or nonprofit mental health training institution.



Nominees must be U.S. citizens or have been lawfully admitted to the

United States for permanent residence. Nominees must have a full-time

academic appointment or be assured of such an appointment upon

completion of this award.  Women and minority candidates are

particularly encouraged to apply.



MECHANISM OF SUPPORT



This RFA will use the NIH Graduate Training Programs Grant (T01).

Responsibility for the planning, direction, and execution of the

proposed project will be solely that of the applicants.  The period of

support is one year.



It is expected that up to four awards will be made, each award not to

exceed $117,000 total costs per year.  A disciplinary school or

department in a single institution may submit multiple faculty scholar

applications if each application focuses on a different priority area.

In considering multiple requests, however, applicants should be mindful

of the necessity for NIMH funding decisions to be based at least in

part on disciplinary and geographic distribution considerations.

Awards will be limited to one per professional school or academic

department for each priority area.



Payback



Any graduate or postgraduate trainee, including a faculty scholar

awardee, in psychology, psychiatry, nursing, social work, or marriage

and family therapy who receives support in an established training

program designed to be for a period of 180 days or more under an NIMH

clinical training grant must pay back through a period of obligated

service equal to the length of support.  The period of support need not

be continuous.  Any support received for any period of time under

previous NIMH clinical training grants, if the stipend was awarded on

or after September 1, 1981, will count toward this total.  The

conditions of the obligated service requirement are set forth in the 42

Code of Federal Regulations Part 64a.



FUNDS AVAILABLE



Applications submitted in response to this announcement will compete

for approximately $500,000 in grant funds that has been set aside for

this purpose in Fiscal Year 1992.  This is a one-time announcement.

The anticipated award date will be September 30, 1992.



RESEARCH OBJECTIVES



Schizophrenic Disorders



NIMH has designated schizophrenia as one of its foremost research

priorities.  In so doing, NIMH has recognized the enormous public

health challenge posed by schizophrenia, acknowledged the immense and

chronic burden borne by people with this disorder and by their

families, and made a commitment to advance rapidly our state of

knowledge and clinical training with respect to this major mental

illness.  Faculty who are expert clinicians and researchers are needed

to train additional mental health professionals who will provide

services for those who are affected by this illness.



Mood, Anxiety, and Personality Disorders



Mood, anxiety, and personality disorders rank among the most serious

and pervasive public health problems in the United States.  Depressive

disorders affect one in twenty American adults in any one-month period

and the figures for anxiety are even higher.  Most persons with

depression also have an anxiety disorder.  Although effective

psychotherapeutic and pharmacological treatments exist, research shows

that most depressed and anxious persons are undiagnosed, often

untreated, and frequently treated inappropriately.  Improved service

provider training is needed and possible.  Faculty with clinical and

research expertise in these disorders are needed to train service

providers and researchers.



Severe Mental Disorders of Children and Adolescents



Major efforts are needed to increase understanding of the causes and

determinants of child and adolescent psychopathology, determine the

effectiveness of biologic, psychotherapeutic, and social treatments,

develop more effective service delivery systems, and enlarge our cadre

of qualified, committed researchers and clinicians.  The critical

shortage of mental health professionals trained to diagnose, treat, and

rehabilitate children and adolescents with severe mental disorders

requires focused clinical and research training programs.



Mental Disorders of the Aging



Risk factors for mental disorder multiply through old age along such

dimensions as physical limitation, social disruption, and psychological

loss; many surveys have shown increases in the prevalence of symptoms

of depression, in Alzheimer's disease and other dementing disorders,

and in behavioral problems such as sleeplessness, agitation, and

confusion that are disruptive to established patterns of family and

community life.  Faculty leadership to establish research and training

programs in geriatric mental health is extremely limited; growth in

this area represents a significant priority in NIMH.



In addition to these four priority areas, scholars are encouraged to

focus on specific subgroups that continue to be underserved.  The

problem of co-morbidity (i.e., the mentally disordered who are also

substance abusers) is recognized as a challenge since 32 percent of

persons with mood disorders and 47% of persons with schizophrenia also

have an addictive disorder.   Other subgroups include minority and

rural populations.



Another area of interest is the development of strong ties between

academic mental health training institutions and public mental health

facilities.  These systems offer a rich opportunity for enhanced

services in the public sector. Thus, NIMH strongly encourages faculty

scholar proposals that demonstrate collaborative linkages between

academic centers and those public mental health service settings where

the seriously mentally ill receive treatment.



APPLICATION PROCEDURES



Application kits (PHS 398, rev. 10/88) are available from the Education

and Training Branch, Division of Clinical Research, NIMH (see below)

and from the Office of Grants Inquiries, Division of Research Grants,

National Institutes of Health, Westwood Building, Room 449, Bethesda,

MD 20892, telephone (301) 496-7441.  The RFA label must be affixed to

the bottom of the face page of the original copy of the application.

Failure to use this label could result in delayed processing of your

application such that it will not reach the review committee in time

for review.



As noted in the RFA, the original and four copies of the application

should be sent to the Division of Research Grants, NIH, Room 240, 5333

Westbard Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20892.  Because of the short time

available for reviews noted below, one additional copy should also be

sent directly to the NIMH Division of Extramural Activities, Room

9C-02, Parklawn Building.  The deadline date for this submission is

April 24, 1992.



REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS



A dual review system is used to ensure expert, objective review of the

quality of applications.  Initial peer review for educational and

technical merit is by Initial Review Groups (IRGs) comprised of

non-Federal mental health authorities.  Final review is by the National

Advisory Mental Health Council whose review may be based on policy as

well as educational and technical merit.



AWARD CRITERIA



The following basic criteria will be used in making award decisions:



o  quality of the overall application as determined during the review

process

o  quality of public-academic linkages provision

o  where appropriate, balance among disciplines, geographic locations,

and priority areas

o  availability of funds



INQUIRIES



Application kits and staff consultation on all aspects of relation to

schizophrenic disorders, mood disorders, and severe mental disorders of

children and adolescents, with the exception of specific research

issues bearing upon these populations, are available from:



Lemuel B. Clark, M.D., Chief

Education and Training Branch

Division of Clinical Research

Telephone:  (301) 443-5850



Further information on fiscal matters, including payback requirements,

is available from:



Mr. Stephen Hudak

Chief, Grants Management Section

Grants Management Branch

Telephone:  (301) 443-4456



The mailing address for all of the above is:



National Institute of Mental Health

Parklawn Building

5600 Fishers Lane

Rockville, MD  20857



AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS



This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

93.244.  Applications will be accepted under the authority of Section

303 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 242a); 42 CFR Part 64.

This program is not subject to the intergovernmental review

requirements of Executive Order 12372 or review by a Health Systems

Agency.



.

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