Improving Smoking Cessation Interventions among People Living with HIV (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA CA 18 027

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA CA 18 027

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity titled "Improving Smoking Cessation Interventions among People Living with HIV (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)" (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-CA-18-027) supports research aimed at improving how cigarette smoking is treated among people living with HIV (PLWH) in the United States. The overall intent is to reduce tobacco-related illness and premature death in this population by strengthening, tailoring, and rigorously evaluating smoking cessation approaches that work in real-world contexts for PLWH. While the primary emphasis is on quitting cigarettes, projects are allowed to address dual or poly tobacco product use when it is directly part of a cigarette smoking cessation intervention strategy.

A central requirement is that the proposed work must be conducted with PLWH and must generate evidence that can inform practical efforts to reduce tobacco-related disease burden among them. The FOA recognizes that smoking behavior among PLWH is shaped by more than nicotine dependence alone, and it encourages studies that examine behavioral, social, and cultural factors linked to smoking and quitting in this population. Applicants are also encouraged to consider smoking-related health disparities and the diversity within PLWH communities, including differences across subgroups that may be defined by race and ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, geography, age, co-occurring substance use, mental health conditions, and other relevant factors that influence access to care and cessation outcomes.

The research scope is designed to move beyond descriptive work and into intervention optimization and testing. Proposed studies may systematically test existing evidence-based cessation interventions, including combinations of behavioral counseling and pharmacotherapies, and/or develop and test well-justified adaptations of proven interventions specifically for PLWH. The emphasis on adaptation reflects the idea that even strong evidence-based cessation programs may not perform as well for PLWH without adjustments that address HIV-related clinical considerations, medication management, comorbidities, stigma, stressors, and care delivery environments common in HIV treatment settings.

Methodologically, the FOA expects strong evaluation designs. Projects must include prospective and comparative evaluation(s) of intervention performance, meaning the work should follow participants forward in time and include comparison conditions or groups to determine whether an intervention improves outcomes relative to another approach, standard care, or an alternative evidence-based strategy. The primary outcomes must include cigarette smoking cessation rates, and explicitly include sustained abstinence rather than only short-term quitting. This makes clear that the NIH is prioritizing durable behavior change and clinically meaningful endpoints.

This opportunity uses the NIH R01 mechanism, and clinical trials are optional, indicating that applicants may propose clinical trial designs when appropriate but are not required to do so if another prospective comparative design is justified and responsive. The opportunity falls under health-related funding activity categories and is associated with CFDA numbers 93.279, 93.307, and 93.393. The listed award ceiling is $500,000, and the original closing date for the announcement was January 8, 2019, with a creation date of August 24, 2018.

Eligibility is broad across U.S.-based organizations. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local 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 other than federally recognized tribal governments; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education in those categories); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses. The FOA also explicitly highlights additional eligible applicant types such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (other than federally recognized), regional organizations, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), and U.S. territories or possessions.

At the same time, the opportunity places strict limits on foreign involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities are not eligible to apply, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components (as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement) are not allowed. In practice, this means the research activities supported under this FOA must be fully domestic and centered on U.S. PLWH populations and U.S. research infrastructure.

In short, this NIH FOA is focused on generating high-quality, comparative, forward-looking evidence about how to improve smoking cessation for people living with HIV, including sustained abstinence outcomes, with attention to the real behavioral and sociocultural drivers of tobacco use and the inequities that shape cessation success across different PLWH subgroups.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Improving Smoking Cessation Interventions among People Living with HIV (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.279, 93.307, 93.393.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-08-24.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-01-08. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $500,000.00 in funding.
• 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 CA 18 027

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: