FY17National Lupus Outreach and Clinical Trial Education Program | MP CPI 17 002

Opportunity Information: Apply for MP CPI 17 002

The FY17 National Lupus Outreach and Clinical Trial Education Program is a federal discretionary grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number: MP-CPI-17-002; CFDA 93.137) offered through the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health. It is designed to build on and extend the work of the Office of Minority Health's National Health Education Lupus Program (NHELP), whose funding was scheduled to end on June 30, 2017. The central goal is to reduce lupus-related health disparities and improve outcomes for people living with lupus, with a strong emphasis on racial and ethnic minority communities that are both disproportionately affected by lupus and historically underrepresented in clinical research.

The opportunity is grounded in the reality that lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease in which the immune system produces autoantibodies that mistakenly attack the body's own tissues and organs. This immune activity leads to inflammation and can result in serious, sometimes life-threatening organ and tissue damage. While treatment and management have improved over time, lupus still has no cure and continues to pose major challenges for patients and providers. The program highlights the uneven burden of disease in the United States, noting that lupus disproportionately affects African Americans, Asians, and American Indians, and that people of African Caribbean or African descent may be at higher risk as well. It emphasizes that lupus is two to three times more common in African American populations. The grant also underscores the wide age range of onset, while noting that diagnosis commonly occurs between ages 15 and 44, and that in this age group women outnumber men with lupus by roughly 12 to 1. Because these are often childbearing years, the disease can have especially complex medical and social impacts for women.

A major focus of this funding is increasing minority participation in clinical trials by addressing both patient- and provider-side barriers. The description points out that, although national efforts to increase minority participation in clinical trials have been underway for decades and progress has been observed, persistent obstacles still limit equitable enrollment. Patient mistrust of medical research is described as a well-documented barrier, particularly among African Americans, and concerns about whether clinicians fully explain trial participation or adequately protect participants from harm are presented as examples of why trust and communication matter. Access to care and insurance coverage are also discussed as traditional barriers; however, the opportunity notes that expanded insurance coverage associated with the Affordable Care Act may have reduced the extent to which lack of coverage is the dominant obstacle for many minority populations.

Importantly, the program narrative stresses that under-enrollment is not simply a matter of patients refusing to participate. It states that African Americans and Hispanics are about as likely to participate in clinical trials as non-Hispanic whites when they are actually asked, but they are often not asked. This shifts attention to provider practices and health system dynamics. The opportunity cites research suggesting that provider attitudes and beliefs about minority patients can influence treatment decisions, including whether patients are referred to procedures or offered clinical trial opportunities. As one example, it references findings that some physicians perceive African Americans as less likely to adhere to demanding therapeutic protocols, which can discourage providers from even initiating conversations about trial participation. For that reason, the grant frames efforts to address provider beliefs, attitudes, and clinical practices as a necessary condition for meaningfully increasing minority participation in lupus-related clinical trials.

In practical terms, the funded work is meant to expand lupus education and outreach while also developing and beginning implementation of a clinical trials education component specifically aimed at informing and recruiting minority populations that are underrepresented in research. In other words, applicants are expected to support activities that raise awareness of lupus, improve understanding of diagnosis and treatment, and create clearer pathways for minority communities to learn about, trust, and engage in clinical research opportunities. The program is positioned as a continuation and evolution of NHELP's earlier efforts, carrying forward the same disparities-reduction mission while sharpening the focus on clinical trial education and recruitment.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of public, private, and community-based entities. Eligible applicants include state governments, county governments, and special district governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments and other Native American tribal organizations; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education under that category); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small, minority-, and women-owned businesses. The opportunity anticipated making up to four awards, with an award ceiling of $325,000 per award. The original application closing date was March 31, 2017, and the opportunity was created on December 30, 2016.

• The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY17National Lupus Outreach and Clinical Trial Education Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.137.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2016-12-30.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2017-03-31. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $325,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 4 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for MP CPI 17 002

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