Applicant Resource for Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Telehealth for People and Families Living with Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and AD-Related Dementias (ADRD)

Q: Who should I contact with questions about this NOSI?

A: Dr. Priscilla Novak is the point of contact for this NOSI. Dr. Novak's email address is Priscilla.Novak@nih.gov .

Q: When does the NOSI expire?

A: The NOSI expires on November 13, 2024.

Q: What funding opportunities can I submit applications to using the NOSI?

A: Submit applications for this initiative using one of the following notices of funding opportunity (NOFO) or any reissues of these announcements through the expiration date of the notice.

• PAR-22-145 , Leveraging Health Information Technology (Health IT) to Address and Reduce Health Care Disparities (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)
• PAR-22-092 , Health Care Models for Persons with Multiple Chronic Conditions from Populations that Experience Health Disparities: Advancing Health Care towards Health Equity (R01 - Clinical Trials Optional)
• PAR-22-093 , Research on Current Topics in Alzheimer's Disease and Its Related Dementias (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)
• PAR-22-094 , Research on Current Topics in Alzheimer's Disease and Its Related Dementias (R21 Clinical Trial Optional)
• PAR-21-308 , Pragmatic Trials for Dementia Care and Caregiver Support (R61/R33 Clinical Trial Required)
• PA-20-195 , NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program (Parent R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• PA-20-185 , NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and the notice of funding opportunity used for submission must be followed, with the following additions:

• For funding consideration, applicants must include NOT-AG-23-060 (without quotation marks) in the Agency Routing Identifier field (box 4B) of the SF424 R&R form. Applications without this information in box 4B will not be considered for this initiative.

Applications nonresponsive to terms of this NOSI will not be considered for the NOSI initiative.

Q: Do we need to respond to an NOSI while applying for the regular parent R01 (PA-20-183), or is the NOSI a requirement only for PARs?

A: View the list of PAs and PARs above to determine which announcements this NOSI applies to.

Q: Who should I contact if I have questions regarding the various funding opportunities?

A: Please direct all inquiries to the Scientific/Research, Peer Review, and Financial/Grants Management contacts in Section VII of the listed notice of funding opportunities.

Q: What are the 7 objectives of the NOSI?

A: The 7 objectives are:

1. Telehealth Delivery Efficacy and Effectiveness: Investigate the efficacy and effectiveness of using telehealth as a mode of home health care and care delivery, in the place of in-person care, for delivering dementia care, including but not limited to remote cognitive assessments, behavioral interventions, caregiver training, care coordination for multiple chronic conditions for persons with AD/ADRD, and psychosocial support.
2. Telehealth and Health Disparities: Examine telehealth and healthcare disparities among individuals living with AD/ADRD, including those from underserved populations, rural areas, and minority communities.
3. Usability, Acceptability, and Accessibility: Evaluate the usability and accessibility of telehealth technologies for people and families living with AD/ADRD, examining whether these tools accommodate the unique cognitive and functional challenges associated with AD/ADRD. Study the use of telehealth to address acute illness, minor injury, and primary care service provision.
4. Cost and Coverage: Assess the coverage and changes in coverage of telehealth services in traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans. Assess cost of implementing telehealth interventions for dementia care compared to traditional in-person approaches, considering both short-term and long-term outcomes.
5. Quality: Examine the quality of care delivered via telehealth to people living with ADRD compared to traditional in-person approaches, considering both short-term and long-term outcomes. Such outcomes may include diagnostic accuracy and patient, caregiver, and clinician assessment of telehealth enabled service delivery.
6. Infrastructure: Assess infrastructure gaps within the realm of telehealth to reach people living with ADRD. Identify and analyze the shortcomings and necessities that must be addressed to advance telehealth services in underserved rural areas. Evaluate the compatibility of technology-intensive telemedicine methods within and among different modes of accessing telehealth care (e.g., variability in internet access, wireless technology, etc.) and factors including but not limited to technological literacy, support, and security standards.
7. Systems and Providers: Study supply side (health system and provider) adoption and use of telehealth and its impact on people and families living with AD/ADRD. Research is needed to identify the best practices and limitations for virtually delivering geriatric-focused models of care to persons living with AD/ADRD.

NIA is interested in projects that use innovative approaches, demonstrate interdisciplinary collaboration, and propose well-designed studies with rigorous evaluation methods. Novel interventions should follow the NIH Stage Model of Behavioral Intervention development . Studies of racial and ethnic disparities in telehealth should employ the NIA Framework on Health Disparities .

Q: Does the NOSI also cover research to develop and test new remote (online) assessment tools? (e.g., AI or model-based assessments?)

A: The focus of the NOSI is on how telehealth works for people and families living with AD/ADRD.

Q: Are there plans to renew PAR-21-308 and PAR-21-307? Both will expire in about 2 weeks.

A: Please check our website for any available updates.

Q: Does the scope of this include developing and evaluating new technologies such as wearable remote monitoring platforms for ADRD?

A: If a new technology was required to deliver an existing intervention, then it may be in scope. The focus of the NOSI is on telehealth enabled care delivery.

Q: Will the NOSI be extended after November 2024?

A: At this time, we are unable to determine if it will be extended.

Q: Does a NOSI change the payline?

A: A NOSI does not change the payline.

Q: What is the impact of the NOSI on review or funding?

A: The NOSI serves to indicate an interest of NIH. It does not change the review process for the PA or PAR. It does not change the amount of funds the NIA has available to support research.