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NOT-AG-24-004: U.S. Health in the International Perspective
The purpose of this NOSI is to express NIA’s interest in research that examines mechanisms and causes behind the increasing U.S. health disadvantage, which refers to worsening life expectancies and health outcomes in the U.S. compared to other countries. Of particular interest are projects that examine cross-national and U.S. cross-regional or cross-state differences in policy context that may drive health outcomes.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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.
- PA-20-183 - NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Required)
- PA-20-184 - NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Basic Experimental Studies with Humans Required
- PA-20-185 - NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
- PA-20-200 - NIH Small Research Grant Program (Parent R03 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and the NOFO used for submission must be followed, with the following additions:
- For funding consideration, applicants must include “NOT-AG-24-004” (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.
Q: What are the areas of interest covered by this NOSI?
A: Areas of interest include but not limited to:
- Research comparing cross-national health disadvantage by leveraging cohort comparisons with cross-sectional and longitudinal data that considers multiple contextual factors and their interactions to identify causes over the life course.
- Research exploring differences in protective factors between the U.S. and other countries that may ameliorate the effects of certain social determinants of health, such as poverty, particularly among older adults.
- Research that identifies and explores drivers of life expectancy increases in high-income countries other than the U.S., and how various national indicators of income, education, health, and health care, and within country inequalities in these indicators, labor market conditions, social welfare, and other regulations are linked to differences in life expectancies.
- Research examining the effects of policy shifts within major institutions or systems that foster society-level change, such as educational, economic, political, environmental, and health systems. The effects on individuals throughout their life span and communities should be considered.
- Research on social protection policies, such as pensions, cash transfers, and other economic support provisions that examine not only individual receipt but also impact of such policies on social determinants of health and outcomes at the population level with attention to subgroups, and causal inference. Designs could include research that uses randomized controlled trial and/or natural experiment designs to examine the effects of social protection policies.
- Research that focuses on whether and to what extent Americans with a high health and social status — as defined by race and ethnicity (e.g., non-Hispanic Whites), education, income, insurance status, and risk factors (e.g., nonsmokers, nonobese) — are in worse health than populations and subpopulations in comparable countries at various points in their lives, identifying any specific health conditions (and including multimorbidity) where outcomes may differ, and examining drivers.
- Research that examines how the causes of changes in life expectancy over the last century in the U.S. vary by subgroups, such as race/ethnicity, sex, socioeconomic position, and age distributions.
- Studies that use multilevel designs, such as combining individual and country-level data, to examine the causes of increasing suicide rates over the life course among groups most affected.
- Research that examines contextual factors that may drive higher and increasing suicide rates — and its causes, such as increasing substance use, declining mental health, or multimorbidity — among communities adversely affected by suicide, particularly studies that compare drivers by racial and ethnic subgroups. These studies could further explore how economic and social factors associated with suicide differ between subgroups (e.g., sex, sexual orientation, age, race and ethnicity, geography, etc.).
- Research that explores contextual factors over the life course (e.g., early life trauma or adversities, access to and availability of lethal means) that may affect means of suicide and variation by subgroups (e.g., age, sex).
Q: Will this NOSI be applicable in research conferences?
A: Please review the parent announcement you are applying to for more information on allowable expenses. The costs cannot be used to organize or run a research conference. The proposed costs covered under an R01 or R03 may include conference attendance.
Q: Is there any possibility to submit an R21 for this NOSI?
A: No — only R01 and R03 grant activity codes are currently covered under this NOSI.
Q: Does the NOSI require primary data collection or secondary data analysis?
A: The NOSI allows for primary data collection or secondary data analysis. The NOSI provide examples of representative, longitudinal surveys funded by NIA.
Q: Where can I find data sources for my project?
A: The NOSI lists some relevant data resources including:
Q: What geographic comparisons are most relevant for this funding opportunity?
A: Comparisons could be between the U.S. and other comparable high-income countries or low-and middle-income countries. The comparisons could also be between U.S. regions, states, or other geographies.
Q: What specific disease areas and topics is NIA interested in?
A: Disease outcomes and topics driving the U.S. health disadvantage are of interest.
Q: What are the roles for researchers based outside the U.S.?
A: The parent Notices of Funding Opportunities for this NOSI allow applications from foreign institutions as well as applications with foreign components. Visit “Section III. Eligibility Information” in the Parent Announcements referenced at the top of the NOSI for more details.
If you have questions about eligibility, please reach out to a Program Officer for clarification.
Q: This call for applications is very broad — can you narrow it for me?
A: You may submit proposals with the most appropriate, up-to-date study design for your research question. As you develop your proposal, consider what research is feasible within the time and budget proposed for either an R03 or R01. To be responsive to the NOSI, consider comparisons across regions or countries that examines a health outcome that differentiates Americans (or residents of a particular state or region) from others, and can articulate and quantify the role of a macrosocial (vs. individual) factor in it. Please refer to the NOSI for specific examples of research areas, as well as the 2013 and 2021 NASEM reports linked in the NOSI.
Q: What is the application submission deadline?
A: Please check the parent funding opportunity you are submitting to check for the application submission deadline for each cycle. There are multiple deadlines.
Q: When does the NOSI expire?
A: The NOSI expires on May 8, 2027.
Q: Who is the main point of contact for the NOSI?
A: The main point of contact for the NOSI at NIA is:
Kriti M. Jain, Ph.D. , NIA
Email: Kriti.Jain@nih.gov
Areas: Field Experiment, quasi-experiment designs
David B. Braudt, Ph.D. , NIA
Email: David.Braudt@nih.gov
Areas: Biodemography, Sociology, Population Geroscience, Population Genetics