Creating pathways to health for all Americans to live the longest and healthiest lives possible is essential to foster vibrant, healthy communities and the country’s overall productivity. Many of the diseases and disorders that disproportionately affect the health of underserved populations in the United States are high priority research areas for the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). African Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders, people with lower socioeconomic status, sexual and gender minority groups, people with disabilities, and rural populations experience much higher risks of and poorer health status than the majority population.
The NIDDK’s Strategic Plan highlights a cross-cutting theme of achieving health equity by eliminating health disparities among racial and ethnic minority populations and others who are underserved. Furthermore, the Pathways to Health for All report from the NIDDK Advisory Council Working Group on Health Disparities and Health Equity acknowledges the need for and encourages NIDDK to pursue research on broader social, environmental, structural, and systemic drivers of population health and health disparities to promote greater health equity.
NIDDK invites research to improve understanding of the causes of disparities in health and disability in the United States with the goal of achieving health equity by improving health and reducing or eliminating health disparities within the mission of the NIDDK: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/about-niddk/research-areas. Specifically, NIDDK welcomes applications that explore the overarching recommendations, each with corresponding opportunities, for high-impact research and actionable strategies elaborated in the Pathways to Health for All report, including:
- Strengthening community engagement through partnership, power-sharing, and capacity building to improve research
- Advancing research on the mechanisms by which biological, behavioral, environmental, and structural factors interact to affect health, disease, and resilience
- Advancing research on interventions and studies to address racism, health-related social needs, and social determinants of health
- Promoting new methods, measures, tools, and technologies to accelerate achievement of health equity research goals
This notice applies to due dates on or after February 5, 2024 and subsequent receipt dates through January 8, 2027.
NOT-DK-24-007