Understanding the Impact of Healthcare System and Clinician Factors on Disparities in Maternal Morbidity and Mortality (R01 - Clinical Trial Optional)

The "Understanding the Impact of Healthcare System and Clinician Factors on Disparities in Maternal Morbidity and Mortality" (R01 - Clinical Trial Optional) grant is a funding opportunity initiated by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to address persistent disparities in maternal health outcomes across the United States. This initiative is spearheaded by several NIH branches including the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), and the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), with additional support from the Office of Disease Prevention (ODP) and the Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH). The grant supports multidisciplinary intervention research in line with the NIH’s IMPROVE Initiative, aimed at improving maternal health outcomes and eliminating preventable causes of maternal morbidity and mortality, especially in vulnerable populations. This funding opportunity specifically invites research proposals to investigate the role of healthcare systems and clinician factors in exacerbating disparities in maternal morbidity and mortality. Key populations of interest include racial and ethnic minorities, individuals of low socioeconomic status, and residents of rural, under-resourced communities. Projects should span the full continuum of maternal care — from prenatal to one year postpartum — and may employ a range of methodologies including intervention trials, observational studies, and mixed-methods approaches. Research proposals should focus on healthcare access and quality, consider the influence of social determinants of health, and examine potential interventions such as improved care coordination and culturally competent, patient-centered care models. Applicants must propose rigorous study designs with sufficient sample sizes and measurable health outcomes. Projects should integrate community collaboration from design through dissemination, and may utilize a variety of data sources including administrative datasets, registries, and the PhenX Toolkit for social determinants of health metrics. Studies are expected to test interventions or health services and implementation strategies that could significantly reduce disparities and improve outcomes. Inclusion of community stakeholders, sustainability of interventions, and strategies for broad implementation are encouraged. Eligible applicants include a wide array of U.S.-based entities such as higher education institutions, local and state governments, nonprofit and for-profit organizations, tribal entities, independent school districts, and housing authorities. Non-U.S. organizations are not eligible. Applications may be submitted by organizations with completed registrations in SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and eRA Commons. Project Directors or Principal Investigators must have eRA Commons credentials and may submit new, renewal, or resubmission applications. Applications are accepted on NIH’s standard R01 due dates: February 5, June 5, and October 5, through 2026. The next application deadline is June 5, 2025. The earliest possible project start date for that cycle is April 2026. Applications must be submitted electronically via ASSIST, an institutional system-to-system solution, or Grants.gov Workspace. There is no set budget ceiling or floor, but the proposed budget should reflect actual project needs and projects can span up to five years. For technical and administrative assistance, contacts include Rada K. Dagher and Yewande Oladeinde at NIMHD, Monica Longo at NICHD, Marie Mancini at NIAMS, Mary Catherine Acri at NIMH, Libbey Bowen at NINR, Jennifer Alvidrez at ODP, and Damiya Eve Whitaker at ORWH. Applicants with project budgets over $500,000 in direct costs per year must consult NIH contacts at least six weeks prior to submission. Complete compliance with application guides and NIH policies is mandatory, and projects not meeting the criteria may be deemed ineligible.