The United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking applications for its program entitled "Prevention Strategies to End the HIV Epidemic".

The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to support projects to improve use of evidence-based HIV prevention interventions among populations in priority areas identified as highly impacted by HIV. 

Objectives

Applicants will design and evaluate strategies for reducing HIV incidence among people at increased risk of infection in the United States in the EHE geographic priority areas. Research applications under this FOA must undertake an implementation science approach to improve the use of existing prevention tools for specific populations and localities. Implementation research is defined as the scientific study of the use of strategies to adopt and integrate multiple evidence-based or evidence-informed health interventions into clinical and community settings to improve individual outcomes and benefit population health. The strategies are expected to use a combination of HIV prevention interventions, be adapted to the selected setting, and be tailored to the priority population(s). This might include measures needed to change the behavior of practitioners and support staff, organizations, consumers, and family members, and policymakers in order to improve the adoption, implementation, and sustainability of evidence-based health interventions and guidelines to reduce HIV incidence. 

Approaches of interest include but are not limited to:

• Differentiated HIV prevention approaches to efficiently deliver evidence-based interventions, including HIV testing and re-testing for persons at increased likelihood of HIV, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), antiretroviral “treatment as prevention” and other prevention modalities to decrease risk of HIV acquisition or transmission.
• Implementation of individualized, evidence-based intervention plans for people who inject drugs, incorporating syringe services programs (SSPs), referral to drug treatment, and HIV testing, PrEP and other prevention modalities.
• Research examining multi-component strategies for scaling up HIV testing and prevention services in a cost-effective manner in conjunction with mental health/substance use treatment programs, family planning service centers, and community- and faith-based programs capable of providing PrEP and other HIV prevention services.
• Deployment of innovative community-based prevention strategies directed toward populations at increased likelihood of HIV that are largely unreached by current programs. Strategies may include peer community outreach, tele-prevention, mHealth for prevention, HIV self-testing, and programs to reduce stigma and bias (related to HIV, sexual orientation, drug user status, mental health, and/or race/ethnicity)
• Development of interventions that assess and provide intervention for substance abuse disorder or problematic, episodic substance use in the context of providing HIV testing and preventive services to members of key populations where substance use is relatively common but not a defining characteristic (e.g., men who have sex with men, transgender persons, sex workers).
• Linking one-stop-shop, same day HIV testing to “status neutral” integrated programs that direct individuals to antiretroviral treatment or prevention strategies in a seamless manner.
• Integration of one or more structural factors (e.g., sociocultural environment, other social determinants of health) with biomedical approaches to enhance and sustain reduced HIV incidence in the population.

Funding Information

The maximum project period is 5 years.

Eligibility Criteria

• Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
• Independent school districts
• Private institutions of higher education
• State governments
• For profit organizations other than small businesses
• Others
• Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
• City or township governments
• Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
• Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
• Small businesses
• Special district governments
• Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
• County governments
• Public and State controlled institutions of higher education

Additional Information on Eligibility

Other Eligible Applicants include the following: Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions; Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs); Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government; Faith-based or Community-based Organizations; Hispanic-serving Institutions; Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs); Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Other than Federally Recognized); Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations); Regional Organizations; Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs) ; U.S. Territory or Possession; Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions) are not eligible to apply. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible to apply. Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are not allowed.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.