Improving Smoking Cessation Interventions among People Living with HIV (R21 Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA CA 20 036

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA CA 20 036

This funding opportunity, titled "Improving Smoking Cessation Interventions among People Living with HIV (R21 Clinical Trial Optional)" (RFA-CA-20-036), is a National Institutes of Health grant focused on advancing research that can improve how cigarette smoking is treated among people living with HIV (PLWH) in the United States. The central goal is to reduce tobacco-related illness and premature death in this population by supporting studies that either test proven smoking cessation approaches in PLWH or thoughtfully adapt existing evidence-based interventions so they work better for the specific needs, circumstances, and lived realities of PLWH.

A key expectation is that proposed research must be conducted with PLWH and must generate practical knowledge that can inform real-world efforts to increase quitting success. The announcement emphasizes that smoking among PLWH is shaped by a mix of behavioral, social, and cultural factors, so applicants are encouraged to address those drivers directly. That can include studying the conditions that make smoking more common or harder to quit in this group, and it can also include research aimed at understanding and reducing smoking-related health disparities within PLWH communities. Importantly, the FOA recognizes that PLWH are not a single uniform group and that effective cessation strategies may need to account for heterogeneity across subgroups, which can include differences in demographics, social context, comorbid conditions, and other structural factors that influence tobacco use and cessation outcomes.

The research focus is primarily on cigarette smoking cessation, but the FOA allows projects to address dual use or poly tobacco product use when it is part of a cigarette-focused cessation intervention. In other words, the initiative is not simply about describing tobacco use patterns; it is about improving cessation treatment and outcomes, even in the context of multiple product use, as long as quitting cigarettes remains the main endpoint.

Methodologically, the FOA requires that projects include prospective, comparative evaluation of the intervention or interventions being studied. This means applicants need to go beyond pre-post or purely observational work and instead compare outcomes across conditions in a forward-looking design that can support stronger conclusions about effectiveness. The comparative evaluations must assess cigarette smoking cessation rates among current smokers, and specifically include sustained abstinence as an outcome, reflecting the emphasis on durable quitting rather than short-term change alone. Because the mechanism is an R21, the projects are generally expected to be exploratory or developmental in nature, supporting early-stage testing, refinement, or adaptation work that can lay the foundation for larger definitive trials later. Clinical trials are optional, so applicants can propose either clinical trial or non-trial designs as long as the required prospective, comparative evaluation is built into the project.

Administratively, this is a discretionary grant offered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through NIH, and it is associated with CFDA numbers 93.279 and 93.393. The eligible applicant pool is broad, spanning state and local governments, tribal governments and tribal organizations, public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofits (with or without 501(c)(3) status), public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), and small businesses, along with other entities as clarified in the full eligibility text. The listing indicates an award ceiling of $200,000 and an anticipated total of three awards. The opportunity was created on June 10, 2020, with an original closing date of September 4, 2020.

Overall, the FOA is designed to push the field toward smoking cessation approaches that are not only evidence-based in general, but specifically optimized for PLWH, accounting for the social and clinical realities that can make quitting more difficult and that contribute to disproportionate tobacco-related harm. The expected output is actionable evidence about which intervention strategies, combinations (including behavioral and pharmacologic components), or tailored adaptations can most effectively improve sustained cigarette abstinence in PLWH, with an explicit eye toward reducing preventable disease and mortality.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, 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 (R21 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, 93.393.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jun 10, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 04, 2020. (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 $200,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 3 candidate(s).
• 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 (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for RFA CA 20 036

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