Current AHRQ Health IT Funding Announcements

In April 2011, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) published two new health information technology (IT)-related funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) to supplement its existing FOAs and special emphasis notice (SEN).

a. New AHRQ Health IT Funding Announcements

These funding opportunities are designed to fund basic health IT research and fill gaps in the field that will lead to improved design of health IT systems.  Highlights of these opportunities are provided below.  For further information, please consult the specific announcement.

i. Understanding Clinical Information Needs and Health Care Decision Making Processes in the Context of Health Information Technology (IT) (R01) FOA:

This R01 FOA (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-11-198.html ) will fund research aimed at elucidating the nature of cognition, task distribution, and work in health care delivery settings. Research projects funded under this FOA will address current knowledge gaps regarding our understanding of health care providers' information needs and health care decision making processes. Ultimately, funded research projects will lead to the development and dissemination of evidence that will lead to appropriate design of health IT solutions that truly support clinical needs and lead to better outcomes. The total costs for a grant awarded under this FOA will not exceed $500,000 per year for a project period of up to five (5) years.

ii. Understanding User Needs and Context to Inform Consumer Health Information Technology (IT) Design (R01) FOA:

This R01 FOA (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-11-199.html) will fund projects that will help build a knowledge base about consumers' personal health information management needs and practices and related design principles. Successful applicants will be able to demonstrate how their proposed projects will lead to a better understanding of user needs and how their findings will impact consumer health IT design. Specifically, AHRQ is interested in funding research that leads to a robust understanding of user needs and context. The total costs for a grant awarded under this FOA will not exceed $500,000 per year for a project period of up to five (5) years.

b. Ongoing AHRQ Health IT Funding Announcements

These funding opportunities are designed to offer applicants opportunities to receive incremental support for the conduct of progressively more complex health IT research projects. The types of funding opportunities, which include training and acquisition of individual research skills, are as follows:  

• Career Development and Dissertation Research Grants (K01, K02, K08, R36)
• Small Research Grants (R03)
• Exploratory and Developmental Grants (R21)

On January 13, 2009, AHRQ conducted a technical assistance call regarding these FOAs. The PowerPoint presentation and transcript for that call are available at http://www.ahrq.gov/fund/tacall.htm.

Highlights of these opportunities are provided below. For further information, please consult the specific announcement.

i. Career Development and Dissertation Research Grants:

A companion Special Emphasis Notice (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-HS-11-016.html) has been published to support health IT-oriented career development (K01, K02, K08) and research dissertation (R36) grants.  This will support development and enhancement of expertise in health IT and related disciplines, including research and evaluation methods, as well as enhancing the capacity of grantees to participate in multi-disciplinary research teams that apply trans-disciplinary perspectives in health IT research.

ii. Small Research Grant to Improve Healthcare Quality through Health IT (R03) FOA:

The R03 FOA (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-08-268.html) supports different types of small research studies including: 1) small pilot and feasibility or self-contained health IT research projects; 2) secondary data analysis of health IT research; and 3) economic (prospective or retrospective) analyses of health IT implementation. The total costs of the health IT R03 project are limited to $100,000 for up to two years of funding. For more detailed information, please see the health IT R03 FOA, highlights of each type of health IT R03 study are provided below:

• Health IT Small Pilot and Feasibility and Self-contained Research Projects may be either preliminary or preparatory work that will inform future health IT implementation and/or research activities or independent research projects designed to study a well circumscribed challenge in health IT development, implementation or use.  The principal investigator/project director for these small research projects is not expected or required to be extensively published or have prior experience in a leadership capacity in the conduct of a research project.    
• Health IT Secondary Data Analysis investigates additional research questions that are related to, but distinct from, the specific aims of the original data collection.  Applicants must identify the source of the data and demonstrate that the proposed analysis is distinct from previously funded activities.
• Health IT Prospective or Retrospective Economic Analyses feature an evaluation of financial and non-financial costs and benefits of a companion health IT implementation project. The health IT implementation project need not have been funded by AHRQ. Economic analyses should consider to whom the benefits accrue and address, to the extent possible, both the direct and indirect benefits of implementation and use of health IT.

iii. Exploratory and Developmental Grant to Improve Health Care Quality through Health IT (R21) FOA:

The R21 FOA (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-08-269.html) will support health IT exploratory and developmental research projects. These R21 health IT research grants will support the conduct of short-term preparatory, pilot, or feasibility studies that are needed to inform future health IT implementation which may include but are not limited to the conduct of a health IT research demonstration grant. The R21 grants are more comprehensive and broader in scope that the small, self-contained health IT research projects supported by the health IT R03 FOA. The total costs of the health IT R21 project are limited to $300,000 over two years with no more than $200,000 in total costs in a given year.

To learn more about AHRQ's funding announcements, go to http://www.ahrq.gov/fund/grantix.htm.