Optimizing the HIV Care Continuum for Substance Abusing Populations at High-Risk and/or Living with HIV (R01) | RFA DA 17 024

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA DA 17 024

The Optimizing the HIV Care Continuum for Substance Abusing Populations at High-Risk and/or Living with HIV (R01) funding opportunity (RFA-DA-17-024) is a National Institutes of Health discretionary grant solicitation designed to support research that improves HIV outcomes for people who misuse substances and are either at high risk for HIV or already living with HIV. The central goal is to strengthen multiple steps of the HIV care continuum at the same time, rather than treating each step in isolation. That continuum includes HIV testing and identification of HIV status, successful linkage to HIV medical care after diagnosis, retention in ongoing care, consistent antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence, and ultimately viral suppression. The FOA emphasizes that substance use can disrupt each of these stages, so effective research needs to address the real-world complexity of keeping people engaged from diagnosis through long-term treatment success.

A key motivation behind the announcement is the gap in evidence on how to integrate strategies that work well for one part of the HIV care cascade with interventions that address other, equally important behaviors and outcomes. For example, a program might be strong at linking newly diagnosed individuals to care, but less effective at supporting long-term retention, consistent ART adherence, or sustained viral suppression. This FOA encourages applicants to develop and test approaches that connect these pieces in a coordinated way, with an eye toward practical implementation in clinical and community settings serving substance-using populations. In other words, it is not just about proving that a single intervention component works, but about optimizing how multiple components work together across time and across service systems.

Another major focus is the influence of policy, financing, and organizational context on HIV care outcomes for substance-abusing populations. The FOA explicitly calls for research that examines how government policies related to payment and financing, as well as clinical recommendations, shape access to and quality of HIV and substance use services. It also highlights the importance of professional norms and the internal rules of healthcare organizations, including clinic- or system-level policies, guidelines, protocols, and care models. This means the research is expected to look beyond individual patient behavior and consider how the surrounding environment either supports or blocks progress along the care continuum.

Because of that emphasis, applications are required to include analyses beyond patient-level outcomes alone. Applicants are expected to examine provider practices, health system or organizational capacities, and structural factors that influence access and outcomes. Structural issues can include national, state or provincial, and local policies that affect the availability, affordability, and delivery of both HIV care and substance use treatment. This could involve studying how clinic workflow, staffing models, training, referral pathways, data-sharing practices, reimbursement rules, or eligibility requirements influence whether people get tested, start care promptly, remain engaged, and achieve viral suppression. The underlying expectation is that durable improvements in HIV outcomes for substance-using populations often depend on changing systems and policies, not only motivating individuals.

The grant mechanism is an R01 research project grant, which typically supports substantial, hypothesis-driven or well-structured research programs. The activity category is listed under education and health, and the CFDA number is 93.279. The opportunity is offered by the National Institutes of Health. The original closing date listed for this FOA was 2017-05-09, and the creation date was 2016-12-06. An award ceiling and the expected number of awards are not specified in the provided listing, which suggests applicants would have needed to refer to the full FOA details for budget guidance and anticipated funding levels.

Eligibility is broad and includes a wide range of domestic and certain non-domestic entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized governments; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education in those specific nonprofit categories); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and other organizations. The FOA also explicitly notes additional eligible applicant types such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions, Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations), and U.S. territories or possessions. This wide eligibility reflects the reality that research on the HIV care continuum for substance-using populations often requires partnerships across academic institutions, community organizations, healthcare systems, and government entities.

Overall, this opportunity is aimed at advancing research that can meaningfully improve HIV clinical outcomes for substance-abusing populations by optimizing multiple care continuum steps simultaneously and by directly addressing the provider, organizational, and policy conditions that determine whether evidence-based HIV and substance use services are actually reachable, coordinated, and sustainable in practice.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Optimizing the HIV Care Continuum for Substance Abusing Populations at High-Risk and/or Living with HIV (R01)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.279.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2016-12-06.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2017-05-09. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for RFA DA 17 024

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