Deadline: 30 August 2019

The Social Interventions Research and Evaluation Network (SIREN) has launched its newest call for proposals focuses on exploring patient interest in health care-based social care services. The grant program is supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Kaiser Permanente.

They are seeking proposals for research studies that either examine why patients sometimes decline social care assistance from health care organizations or test strategies that can increase patient interest in health care-based assistance.

Research Topics

To address gaps in knowledge about why patients and families who screen positive for social risks decline health care-based assistance and how to design screening and assistance programs to maximize interest in assistance, SIREN is seeking proposals for research focused on advancing knowledge related to two research topics:

1. Understanding patient interest in social care from health care organizations. Under this topic, proposed projects could analyze existing data from social risk screening and assistance programs or undertake new data collection to identify patient, provider, clinic, organization, community or other factors associated with patient interest (or disinterest) in assistance. Projects could interview patients to explore why and in what cases patients might be interested in assistance.
2. Identifying social risk screening and assistance strategies that can increase patient interest in health care-based assistance. Under this topic, proposals should compare the impacts of different approaches to screening and assistance on patient uptake of assistance. For example, studies could compare different staffing models, workflows, scripts to introduce screening and assistance programs, or other program modifications that may increase uptake.

Grant Amounts and Time Periods

• Research Topic 1: Total budget not to exceed $50,000/project; project period up to 12 months.
• Research Topic 2: Total budget not to exceed $150,000/project; project period up to 24 months.

While applicants may apply under both categories, it is unlikely that two proposals from the same applicant team will be funded.

A total of $500,000 is available for this funding opportunity. The number of grants made will depend on the number of proposals and requested funds. Due to relatively limited funding levels, they encourage applications that leverage existing screening and assistance programs.

Eligibility Criteria

• Both nonprofit and for-profit organizations are eligible to apply for this grant opportunity although preference will be given to applicant organizations that are institutions of higher education, public entities, or nonprofit organizations that are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Applicant organizations must be based in the United Statesor its territories.
• Recognizing that diverse perspectives strengthen research, they encourage submissions from applicants belonging to groups that are underrepresented in health research as defined by the National Institutes of Health. This includes applicants from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, individuals with disabilities, and individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds (see the end of this document for a definition).

How to Apply

Interested applicants are asked to signal their intent to apply through the form given on the website.

For more information, please visit https://sirenetwork.ucsf.edu/SIREN-2019-CFP