The NIH Common Fund is funding new research projects to prevent, reduce, or eliminate health disparities and advance health equity. The new set of four awards totals more than $17 million over five years, pending availability of funds.

Through the NIH Common Fund’s Transformative Research to Address Health Disparities and Advance Health Equity Program, the awards support collaborative teams of researchers to develop and implement innovative ways to improve health for populations that experiences health disparities in the U.S.

The new NIH-supported awards are at the following institutions:

• Ponce School of Medicine researchers aim to increase access to specialized mental health care for Hispanic cancer patients and explore whether the strategy helps address psychological distress resulting from cancer and its treatment.
• At San Francisco State University, the research team will study the effectiveness of a community-based, group intervention delivered in Spanish to reduce HIV-related health inequities among Latino immigrant populations.
• The Texas Tech University research team will study whether an employer-based walking challenge in El Paso, Texas is an effective strategy to reduce health disparities in cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disorders in Mexican American populations.
• University of Texas, Arlington researchers will train undergraduate social work students at a Minority Serving Institution as Community Health Workers and study whether the strategy reduces depression and anxiety in underserved populations in Texas.

The awards were issued to eligible institutions with limited NIH funding and either higher enrollment of Pell grant-supported students or a historical mission to educate students from nationally underrepresented backgrounds, expanding the research base dedicated to health disparities at these institutions. More information about each award is available on the Transformative Research to Address Health Disparities and Advance Health Equity Funded Research page.

The Transformative Research to Address Health Disparities and Advance Health Equity program is an NIH-wide effort led collaboratively by the NIH Common Fund, Office of Research on Women's Health, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, and the National Institute of Nursing Research, with many of the NIH Institutes and Centers participating in program management. The new set of awards will be administered by the National Cancer Institute, National Institute on Mental Health, and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.

NIH funding for the awards comes from the NIH Common Fund, which supports cross-cutting programs expected to have exceptionally high impact. To receive updates about THD efforts, sign up for the Common Fund Health Disparities listserv. For more information about Common Fund opportunities, join the Common Fund Listserv or subscribe to the Weekly E-Mail with New NIH Guide Postings.