Full Text AG-92-01
 
ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE CENTER COMMUNITY OUTREACH EDUCATION PROGRAMS
 
RFA:  AG-92-01
 
P.T. 04

Keywords: 
  Community/Outreach Programs 
  Senile Dementia 
  Health and Safety Education 
  Diagnosis, Medical 

 
National Institute on Aging
 
Letter of Intent Receipt Date:  February 21, 1992
Application Receipt Date:  March 24, 1992
 
PURPOSE
 
The purpose of this Request for Applications (RFA) is to invite grant
applications for the support of community outreach education programs
from recipients of National Institute on Aging (NIA) Alzheimer's
Disease Research Centers (P50) and Alzheimer's Disease Center Core
Grants (P30) and institutions that have equivalent programs.  It is
anticipated that these education programs will result in increased
community efforts related to Alzheimer's disease (AD), earlier
detection of dementing disorders, better education and assistance
programs for the families, and the systematic application of the best
available methods for treatment and care of Alzheimer's disease
patients.  The primary purpose is to encourage Alzheimer's Disease
Centers to expand their role in technology transfer by providing
state-of-the-art information about detection, diagnosis, treatment,
management and family care of Alzheimer's disease to community
professionals and relevant community organizations.  Underserved,
women, and minority populations should receive high priority in
carrying out these objectives.
 
HEALTHY PEOPLE 2000
 
The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the health
promotion and disease prevention objectives of "Healthy People 2000,"
a PHS-led national activity for setting priority areas.  This RFA,
Alzheimer's Disease Center Community Outreach Education Programs, is
related to the priority area of health promotion:  educational and
community-based programs.  Potential applicants may obtain a copy of
"Healthy People 2000" (Full Report:  Stock No. 017-001-00474-0) or
"Healthy People 2000" (Summary Report:  Stock No. 017-001-00473-1)
through the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office,
Washington, DC 20402-9325 (telephone 202-783-3238).
 
ELIGIBILITY
 
Research grant applications may be submitted by domestic and foreign,
for-profit and non-profit organizations, public and private, such as
universities, colleges, hospitals, laboratories, units of State or
local governments, and eligible agencies of the Federal Government.
Applications from minority individuals and women are encouraged.
 
MECHANISM OF SUPPORT
 
Support of this program will be through the National Institute on
Aging Education Projects Grant (R25). Applicants will be responsible
for the planning, direction, and execution of the proposed project.
Except as otherwise stated in this RFA, awards will be administered
under PHS grants policy as stated in the Public Health Service Grants
Policy Statement, DHHS Publication No. (OASH) 90-50,000, revised
October 1, 1990.
 
These awards will provide support for the administrative and didactic
costs associated with the continuing education sessions.  The type of
training sessions to be offered may include seminars, workshops,
short courses and other appropriate formats that the applicant
organization might propose.  The production of video tape and film
materials is appropriate under the RFA but cannot be the sole
activity conducted under the award and must be limited to no more
than 50 percent of the annual direct costs.  Arrangements must be
made to provide continuing medical education (CME) credit for courses
when appropriate.
 
This RFA is a one-time solicitation.  Future unsolicited competitive
continuation applications will compete with all
investigator-initiated applications assigned to the NIA and will be
reviewed by the NIA Scientific Review Office.  If the NIA determines
that there is a sufficient continuing program need, a request for
competitive continuation and/or new applications will be announced.
 
FUNDS AVAILABLE
 
The NIA will commit up to $500,000 per year for three years to fund
applications that are submitted in response to this RFA.  Awards will
be limited to a maximum of $100,000 per year in direct costs for up
to three years of total grant support.  The indirect cost rate is
limited to eight percent per year. Indirect costs for any consortium
or subcontract will also be limited to eight percent.  Only one award
may be made per institution.
 
It is anticipated that up to five awards will be made.  This funding
level is dependent upon the receipt of a sufficient number of
applications of high scientific and technical merit.  The total
project period for applications submitted in response to the RFA may
not exceed three years.
 
The earliest start date for the initial awards will be September 30,
1992.  Although this program is provided for in the financial plans
of the NIA, the award of grants pursuant to this RFA is contingent
upon the availability of funds for this purpose.
 
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
 
Background
 
Substantial efforts have been devoted to the development and
dissemination of materials about AD, both for health care
professionals and the public. In spite of these efforts, the level of
information about detection, diagnosis, treatment, management, and
family care remains low.  Information that is now available at the
Alzheimer's Disease Centers would have a major impact if widely
disseminated at the local community level.  Another step in the
process of information dissemination is the establishment of
educational programs that will transmit state-of-the-art information
on Alzheimer's disease to community health professionals who are
primarily responsible for providing the majority of care to dementia
patients.  These educational programs must also include community
leaders (e.g., those affiliated with civic, religious, and
occupational organizations) who are concerned about improving the
diagnosis, treatment, and management of dementing diseases and the
local chapter of the Alzheimer's Association.  These individuals and
the Alzheimer's Association can access and influence the behavior of
large segments of the population.
 
The NIA-designated Alzheimer's Disease Centers are an appropriate
location for these outreach education programs since an essential
programmatic element of the Alzheimer's Disease Centers is a role in
clinical and research training and in education and information
transfer programs for local and regional health care professionals.
 
Other
 
The purpose of this RFA is to provide funding, on a competitive
basis, for the development and implementation of Alzheimer's disease
education programs for Alzheimer's Disease Centers that have been
awarded a P30 or P50 grant by the National Institute on Aging and
those institutions that have equivalent programs.  These education
programs should provide state-of-the-art knowledge related to the
detection, diagnosis, treatment, management, and family care of the
dementia patient to local and regional health care professionals,
community leaders, and staff of relevant community organizations.
Topics should be selected on the basis of their relevance to the
day-to-day activities and problems of the community health care
professionals and to the welfare of AD patients and their families.
 
These outreach programs are intended to be of particular benefit to
underserved communities and to areas with disproportionately large
populations of older people.  High priority local and regional needs
for specific types of AD education programs should be addressed by
the proposed programs and described in the application.
 
The type of programs, the subject content, and duration will depend
upon local priorities, the availability of appropriate resources, and
the nature of the target professional and lay populations to be
addressed.
 
SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS
 
The application must describe examples of specific topics and
approaches that might be included in the AD education programs.
Emphasis should be given to outreach education topics that would have
the greatest impact upon improving the diagnosis, treatment, and
management of AD and on improving the quality of life of the AD
patient and his/her family.
 
An area of special interest to the NIA is educational programs
designed to improve the quality of diagnosis, treatment, and
management in women and ethnic, minority, low socioeconomic, and
other underserved populations in the U.S.
 
The application must include a detailed budget describing and
justifying each category of costs requested, and it must indicate the
nature and extent of any institutional contribution to the activities
supported by an award as a result of this RFA.
 
STUDY POPULATIONS
 
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS TO APPLICANTS REGARDING IMPLEMENTATION OF NIH
POLICIES CONCERNING INCLUSION OF WOMEN AND MINORITIES IN CLINICAL
RESEARCH STUDY POPULATIONS
 
NIH and ADAMHA policy is that applicants for NIH/ADAMHA clinical
research grants and cooperative agreements are required to include
minorities and women in study populations so that research findings
can be of benefit to all persons at risk of the disease, disorder or
condition under study; special emphasis must be placed on the need
for inclusion of minorities and women in studies of diseases,
disorders and conditions which disproportionately affect them.  This
policy is intended to apply to males and females of all ages.  If
women or minorities are excluded or inadequately represented in
clinical research, particularly in proposed population-based studies,
a clear compelling rationale must be provided.
 
The composition of the proposed study population must be described in
terms of gender and racial/ethnic group.  In addition, gender and
racial/ethnic issues must be addressed in developing a research
design and sample size appropriate for the scientific objectives of
the study.  This information must be included in the form PHS 398 in
Section 2, A-D of the Research Plan AND summarized in Section 2, E,
Human Subjects.  Applicants/offerors are urged to assess carefully
the feasibility of including the broadest possible representation of
minority groups.  However, NIH recognizes that it may not be feasible
or appropriate in all research projects to include representation of
the full array of United States racial/ethnic minority populations
(i.e., Native Americans [including American Indians or Alaskan
Natives], Asian/Pacific Islanders, Blacks, Hispanics).
 
The rationale for studies on single minority population groups should
be provided.
 
For the purpose of this policy, clinical research is defined as human
biomedical and behavioral studies of etiology, epidemiology,
prevention (and preventive strategies), diagnosis, or treatment of
diseases, disorders or conditions, including but limited to clinical
trials.
 
The usual NIH policies concerning research on human subjects also
apply.  Basic research or clinical studies in which human tissues
cannot be identified or linked to individuals are excluded.  However,
every effort should be made to include human tissues from women and
racial/ethnic minorities when it is important to apply the results of
the study broadly, and this should be addressed by applicants.
 
For foreign awards, the policy on inclusion of women applies fully;
since the definition of minority differs in other countries, the
applicant must discuss the relevance of research involving foreign
population groups to the United States' populations, including
minorities.
 
If the required information is not contained within the application,
the application will be returned.
 
Peer reviewers will address specifically whether the research plan in
the application conforms to these policies.  If the representation of
women or minorities in a study design is inadequate to answer the
scientific question(s) addressed AND the justification for the
selected study population is inadequate, it will be considered a
scientific weakness or deficiency in the study design and reflected
in assigning the priority score to the application.
 
All applications for clinical research submitted to NIH are required
to address these policies.  NIH funding components will not award
grants or cooperative agreements that do not comply with these
policies.
 
LETTER OF INTENT
 
Prospective applicants are asked to submit by February 21, 1992, a
letter of intent that includes a descriptive title of the proposed
project, the name and address of the Principal Investigator, the
names of other key personnel, the participating institutions, and the
number and title of the RFA.
 
Although a letter of intent is not required, is not binding, and does
not enter into the review of subsequent applications, it is requested
in order to provide an indication of the number and scope of the
applications to be reviewed.
 
The letter of intent is to be sent to:
 
Dr. Teresa Sluss Radebaugh
Chief, Dementias of Aging Branch
Neuroscience and Neuropsychology of Aging Program
National Institute on Aging
Gateway Building, Suite 3C307
Bethesda, MD  20892
Telephone:  (301) 496-9350
FAX:  (301) 496-1494
 
APPLICATION PROCEDURES
 
The research grant application form PHS 398 (rev. 10/88, reprinted
9/89) must be used in applying for these grants.  These forms are
available at most institutional business offices; from the Office of
Grants Inquiries, Division of Research Grants, National Institutes of
Health, 5333 Westbard Avenue, Room 449, Bethesda, MD 20892, telephone
301/496-7441; and from the NIH program administrator named below.
 
The RFA label available in the 10/88-9/89 revision of the PHS 398
application form must be affixed to the bottom of the face page of
the application.  Failure to use this label could result in delayed
processing of the application such that it may not reach the review
committee in time for review.  In addition, the RFA title and number
must be typed on line 2 of the face page of the application form and
the YES box must be marked.
 
Submit a signed, typewritten original of the application, including
the Checklist, and four signed, photocopies, in one package to:
 
DIVISION OF RESEARCH GRANTS
National Institutes of Health
Westwood Building, Room 240
Bethesda, MD  20892
 
At the time of submission, two additional copies of the application
must also be sent to:
 
CHIEF, SCIENTIFIC REVIEW OFFICE
National Institute on Aging
Gateway Building, Suite 2C212
7201 Wisconsin Avenue
Bethesda, MD  20892
 
Applications must be received by March 24, 1992.  If an application
is received after that date, it will be returned to the applicant.
The Division of Research Grants (DRG) will not accept any application
in response to this announcement that is essentially the same as one
currently pending initial review, unless the applicant withdraws the
pending application.  The DRG will not accept any application that is
essentially the same as one already reviewed.  This does not preclude
the submission of substantial revisions of applications already
reviewed, but such applications must include an introduction
addressing the previous critique.
 
REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS
 
Upon receipt, applications will be reviewed by NIH staff for
completeness and responsiveness.  Incomplete applications will be
returned to the applicant without further consideration.  If the
application is not responsive to the RFA, Institute staff will return
the application to the applicant.
 
Applications may be triaged by an NIA peer review group on the basis
of relative competitiveness.  The NIH will withdraw from further
competition those applications judged to be non-competitive for award
and notify the applicant Principal Investigator and institutional
official. Those applications judged to be competitive will undergo
further scientific merit review.  Those applications that are
complete and responsive will be evaluated in accordance with the
criteria stated below for scientific/technical merit by an
appropriate peer review group convened by the NIA.  Additional
materials will not be accepted after the receipt date.  The second
level of review will be provided by the National Advisory Council on
Aging.
 
Review criteria for this RFA include the following:
 
o  The quality of the overall proposed approach to outreach education
programs and the likelihood that the proposed approach will
significantly improve the detection, diagnosis, treatment,
management, and family care of AD patients in the community.
 
o  The quality of topics and the content of specific examples of
outreach education programs described in the application.
 
o  The extent to which specific and appropriate target groups for the
proposed outreach programs are identified and accessed.
 
o  The extent to which the proposed programs would augment the
ongoing outreach education efforts and/or would initiate new efforts
and are linked to and coordinated with the activities of the local
chapters of the Alzheimer's Association.
 
o  The administrative and scientific qualifications, availability,
commitment, and relevant experience of the Principal Investigator and
key staff proposed for the outreach education programs.
 
o  The availability of appropriate resources and facilities for the
proposed activities.
 
o  Plans for short-term evaluation of the outcome of the proposed AD
education programs in terms of changes in professional and lay
knowledge, practice, attitudes, and behavior.
 
o  Adequacy of the proposed means for protecting the privacy and
welfare of human subjects.
 
o  Scientific, technical, or medical significance and originality of
proposed research.
 
o  Appropriateness and adequacy of the experimental approach and
methodology proposed to carry out the research.
 
o  Qualifications and research experience of the Principal
Investigator and staff, particularly, but not exclusively, in the
area of the proposed research.
 
o  Availability of resources necessary to perform the research.
 
o  Appropriateness of the proposed budget and duration in relation to
the proposed research.
 
AWARD CRITERIA
 
The earliest start date for the initial awards will be September 30,
1992.
 
INQUIRIES
 
Written and telephone inquiries concerning the objectives and scope
of this RFA and inquiries about whether or not the specific project
would be responsive are encouraged.  The opportunity to clarify any
issues or questions from potential applicants is welcome.
 
Direct inquiries regarding programmatic issues to:
 
Dr. Teresa Sluss Radebaugh
Chief, Dementias of Aging Branch
Neuroscience and Neuropsychology of Aging Program
National Institute on Aging
Gateway Building, Suite 3C307
Bethesda, MD  20892
Telephone:  (301) 496-9350
FAX:  (301) 496-1494
 
Direct inquiries regarding fiscal matters to:
 
Mr. Joseph Ellis
Grants Management Office
National Institute on Aging
Gateway Building, Suite 2N212
Bethesda, MD  20892
Telephone:  (301) 496-1472
 
AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS
 
This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance No. 93.866.  Awards are made under authorization of the
Public Health Service Act, Title IV, Part A (Public Law 78-410, as
amended by Public Law 99-158, 42 USC 241 and 285) and administered
under PHS grants policies and Federal Regulations 42 CFR 52 and 45
CFR Part 74.  This program is not subject to the intergovernmental
review requirements of Executive Order 12372 or Health Systems Agency
review.
 
.

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