Purpose:
The purpose of this FOA is to seek applications for a Coordinating Center (CC) for Community-Level Interventions for Firearm Violence Prevention (CLIF-VP) Research Network. Members of the CLIF-VP Research Network, including the CC, will work collaboratively with the NIH to develop and test interventions at the community or community organization level that aim to prevent firearm and related violence, injury, and mortality. The CLIF-VP Research Network will include the CC funded under this Cooperative Agreement and up to 10 Research Projects funded under the companion UG3/UH3 Phased Cooperative Agreement FOA, Research on Community Level Interventions for Firearm and Related Violence, Injury, and Mortality Prevention (CLIF-VP) PAR-22-115 . In phase 1 (1-2 years) the Research Projects will need to demonstrate sufficient preparation, feasibility, and capacity for the planned intervention study. Those that pass their milestones will transition into phase 2, during which they will implement their proposed intervention. The CC will provide overarching support and guidance to the network in three domains: (1) administration, coordination, and communication; (2) data, measurement, and analytic support and consultation; and (3) public/stakeholder engagement and dissemination support. It is important that applicants for the CC also read the companion FOA to understand the full mission and structure of the research network.
Background:
Violence is defined by the World Health Organization as: “the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment, or deprivation.” Violence affects people of all ages and its impact is far-reaching. It is a leading cause of death and nonfatal injuries in the United States and constitutes a major public health crisis, especially among young people, and in particular among racial/ethnic minority, sexual and gender minority (SGM) and disability populations. Each day more than 1000 youth are treated in emergency departments for physical assault related injuries. Both direct and indirect (e.g., witnessing) violent victimization events are associated with not only physical injury or mortality, but also a range of acute and chronic physical, mental and behavioral health conditions, such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, asthma, substance use disorders, and sleep disturbance.
CDC identifies a number of priority areas for violence prevention efforts including child maltreatment, elder abuse, intimate partner violence, firearm violence, sexual violence, and youth violence (including bullying). Firearm homicide is the third leading cause of death among persons aged 10 to 24 years and the leading cause of death among Black men (<45 years of age). The firearm homicide rate is over 10x higher for Black than White men ages 20-24. Homicide has been the leading cause of death for non-Hispanic Black youth for more than three decades and is the second leading cause of death for Hispanic youth. Homicide is also a significant cause of maternal mortality, as a recent study using national death certificate data found that pregnant women in the United States died by homicide (most often from partners) more often than they died of pregnancy-related causes.
Despite recognition that violence is a public health condition that is linked to social determinants across the lifespan, most violence prevention and intervention programs remain focused on individual risk factors of violence victimization or perpetration. Furthermore, recent events including the COVID-19 pandemic and events focused on racial and social justice issues (e.g., police violence, mass shootings) have brought an increased recognition that social determinants of health (SDOH; see https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/social-determinants-of-health), namely the often-intersecting burden of poverty and structural racism, are drivers of population-level health disparities. Violence prevention efforts must therefore address these sociocultural forces in order to reduce the disproportionate impact of violence and victimization on women, children, racial/ethnic minorities, sexual and gender minorities, and other socially marginalized groups.
As such, the current situation calls for firearm and related violence prevention and intervention strategies that can be implemented at the community level—which function by modifying characteristics of organizations, environments and settings such as schools, workplaces, and neighborhoods. See NIMHD’s research framework (https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/about/overview/research-framework/nimhd-framework.html) for more details. By necessity, such interventions require community engaged research strategies, including but not limited to community-based participatory research, in order to develop, evaluate, and implement successfully. In addition, collaboration and coordination across research teams implementing these interventions can maximize impact through data harmonization and sharing that can enhance the generalizability or applicability of findings.
Key Dates:
URL for more information:
https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-22-120.html
Filed Under: Funding Opportunities