The National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the nation’s medical research agency — making important discoveries that improve health and save lives.
The broad goals of this grant program focus on supporting developmental/exploratory research to promote health, prevent disease, and improve treatment and service delivery for Native American populations. The grant is dedicated to several specific causes within this framework, including etiologic research to fill knowledge gaps that inform intervention development, the creation and pilot testing of new or adapted interventions for feasibility and scale, and the short-term efficacy testing of interventions. Additionally, it supports research to identify and overcome barriers to the adoption and sustainability of effective interventions. This initiative acknowledges the acute and chronic disease inequities among Native American populations, their unique sociopolitical and historical stressors, and aims to leverage community strengths and resiliencies in crafting health solutions. It covers Alaska Natives, American Indians, and Native Hawaiians, emphasizing culturally informed, exploratory research to pave the way for future, culturally appropriate interventions.