Increasing the Use of Medications for the Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorders (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR 18 196

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 18 196

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), issued this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to support health services research that increases the real-world use and public health impact of FDA-approved medications for alcohol use disorder (AUD). Although effective pharmacotherapies already exist, they remain underused in routine care. This grant is aimed at closing that implementation gap by developing and testing practical strategies that help these medications become a more standard part of AUD treatment, both in general medical settings (like primary care) and in specialty addiction treatment programs.

The FOA calls for hypothesis-driven research focused on improving uptake and sustained use of currently available AUD medications by addressing common barriers that limit prescribing and patient acceptance. The areas of emphasis include acceptability (for both prescribers and patients), perceived effectiveness (including beliefs and expectations that influence whether medications are recommended or taken), affordability (cost barriers for patients, payers, and systems), and feasibility (how well medication treatment can fit into existing workflows, staffing patterns, and care delivery structures). In other words, the goal is not to create new medications, but to make existing, evidence-based options easier to adopt at scale and more likely to be used consistently in everyday practice.

Mechanistically, this is an R01 research project grant (clinical trial optional), meaning applicants can propose studies that do or do not include clinical trial components, as long as the work is aligned with the FOA’s implementation and service-delivery focus. The intention is to generate generalizable knowledge about which approaches work best to increase medication use for AUD, ideally in ways that are scalable, cost-effective, and sustainable across different healthcare environments. Projects are expected to be rigorous and designed to identify effective methods rather than simply describing problems, with an emphasis on strategies that can be integrated into real systems of care.

Eligible applicants are broad and include many types of U.S.-based organizations and governmental entities. These include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (excluding universities when specified by category); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and other eligible entities. The FOA also explicitly highlights additional eligible applicants 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.

Foreign participation is specifically restricted. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply. In addition, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components (as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement) are not allowed under this announcement. This means the proposed work and participating components must remain domestically based within allowable U.S. organizational structures.

In terms of administrative details, the opportunity number is PAR-18-196, categorized as a discretionary grant under the health funding activity area, with CFDA number 93.273. The posting reflects an original closing date of May 7, 2020, and a creation date of November 1, 2017. While the summary text does not list an award ceiling or expected number of awards, the central purpose is clear: to fund strong, service-oriented research that measurably increases the adoption and routine use of FDA-approved AUD medications by tackling the real barriers that prevent these treatments from reaching the people who could benefit from them.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Increasing the Use of Medications for the Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorders (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): 93.273.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-11-01.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-05-07. (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 18 196

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