Intervening with Cancer Caregivers to Improve Patient Health Outcomes and Optimize Health Care Utilization (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR 19 352

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 19 352

The NIH grant opportunity titled "Intervening with Cancer Caregivers to Improve Patient Health Outcomes and Optimize Health Care Utilization (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)" (Funding Opportunity Number PAR-19-352) supports research that tests interventions aimed at helping caregivers of adult cancer patients. The core idea is that cancer caregiving is not just a family issue but a major part of the patient care ecosystem, and caregiver strain, lack of training, or poor support can spill over into the patient experience, affecting symptoms, adherence, crisis events, and how often patients end up in high-cost settings like emergency departments or inpatient units. This FOA is looking for well-designed intervention studies that equip caregivers with practical care skills and emotional or behavioral coping tools so they can manage caregiving demands more effectively over time.

The interventions envisioned under this announcement focus on three linked outcome areas. First, projects should aim to optimize patient health care utilization, meaning the intervention should plausibly reduce avoidable or inefficient use of health services while supporting appropriate, timely care. That can include outcomes like fewer preventable emergency visits, fewer unplanned hospitalizations or readmissions, improved use of outpatient or supportive services, smoother transitions of care, or better coordination that prevents crises. Second, interventions are expected to improve caregiver well-being, which can include reducing stress, depression, anxiety, burden, sleep disruption, or social isolation, and improving caregiver confidence, preparedness, self-efficacy, and quality of life. Third, projects should aim to improve patient outcomes, both physical (for example, symptom control, functional status, treatment tolerance, adherence to care plans) and psychosocial (such as distress, mood, coping, communication, or overall quality of life). The FOA ties these together by treating caregiver support as a pathway to better outcomes for both the patient and the health system.

This is an R01 mechanism, which typically supports substantial, multi-year research projects that can rigorously test an intervention and generate strong evidence. The label "Clinical Trial Optional" indicates that applicants may propose studies that do or do not meet NIH's definition of a clinical trial; in practice, many caregiver intervention studies do involve randomization or other designs that qualify as clinical trials, but the announcement does not require it. What matters is that the application proposes intervention research with clear caregiver-focused content (such as care training and coping skills development) and a strong plan to measure the downstream effects on utilization, caregiver outcomes, and patient outcomes.

Eligibility is broad and includes many U.S.-based organization types: state, county, and local governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled universities; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses. The announcement also highlights additional eligible applicant categories such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISI), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, and U.S. territories or possessions. At the same time, it places firm limits on foreign involvement: non-U.S. entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply, non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components as defined by NIH policy are not allowed. In short, the work needs to be led and carried out within eligible U.S.-based organizational structures without foreign components.

Administratively, this is a discretionary grant opportunity from the National Institutes of Health. It sits within health and education-related funding activity categories and is associated with CFDA numbers 93.395 and 93.399. The FOA was created on 2019-08-29, and the listed original closing date is 2022-09-07. The source data does not specify an award ceiling, the expected number of awards, or other budget summary details, so applicants would typically look to the full FOA text and NIH policy for budget formatting expectations under the R01 mechanism.

Overall, PAR-19-352 is designed for investigators and organizations that want to test practical, scalable ways to strengthen the caregiver role in adult cancer care. Competitive projects will generally be those that make a clear case for why the caregiver intervention should change patient utilization patterns and patient outcomes, specify measurable endpoints in all three domains (utilization, caregiver well-being, and patient physical/psychosocial health), and use a rigorous design appropriate for an R01-level evaluation.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Intervening with Cancer Caregivers to Improve Patient Health Outcomes and Optimize Health Care Utilization (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): 93.395, 93.399.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2019-08-29.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-09-07. (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 PAR 19 352

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