$$XID NIHGUIDE 19920313 V21N10 P2O2 ************************************ Written and telephone requests for the RFA and the opportunity to clarify any issues or questions from potential applicants are welcome. Direct requests for the RFA and inquiries regarding programmatic issues to: Felix F. de la Cruz, M.D., M.P.H. Chief, MRDD Branch, CRMC National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Executive Plaza North, Room 631 6130 Executive Boulevard Bethesda, MD 20892 Telephone: (301) 496-1383 Direct inquiries regarding fiscal matters to: Mr. Edgar D. Shawver Supervisory Grants Management Specialist Office of Grants and Contracts National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Executive Plaza North, Room 505 6130 Executive Boulevard Bethesda, MD 20892 Telephone: (301) 496-1303 AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance No. 93.865 Research for Mothers and Children. Awards are made under authorization of the Public Health Service Act, Title IV, Part A (Public Law 78-410, as amended by Public Law 99-158, 42 USC 241 and 285) and administered under PHS grants policies and Federal Regulations 42 CFR 52 and 45 CFR Part 74. This program is not subject to the intergovernmental review requirements of Executive Order 12372 or Health Systems Agency review. $$R7 END ************************************************************ ONGOING PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENTS $$P1 BEGIN PA-92-51 ************************************************* EFFECTIVE DISSEMINATION OF HEALTH AND CLINICAL INFORMATION AND RESEARCH FINDINGS NIH GUIDE, Volume 21, Number 10, March 13, 1992 PA NUMBER: PA-92-51 P.T. 16; K.W. 1004017, 0730050, 1016002, 1016003 Agency for Health Care Policy and Research PURPOSE The Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) invites applications to conduct applied research and demonstrations on effective dissemination of health-related information and clinical practice guidelines, technology assessments, general health services research findings, and research findings used in policy decisions and recommendations. HEALTHY PEOPLE 2000 The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the health promotion and disease prevention objectives of "Healthy People 2000," a PHS-led national activity for setting priority areas. This Program Announcement, Effective Dissemination of Health and Clinical Information and Research Findings, could be related to any priority area. Potential applicants may obtain a copy of "Healthy People 2000" (Full Report: Stock No. 017-001-00474-0) or "Healthy People 2000" (Summary Report: Stock No. 017-001-00473-1) through the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402-9325 (telephone 202-783-3238). ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS Applications may be submitted by public and private non-profit institutions, units of State and local government, and individuals. For-profit institutions are not eligible for AHCPR grants. MECHANISM OF SUPPORT This Program Announcement will use the traditional research grant (R01). Responsibility for the planning, direction, and execution of the proposed project will be solely that of the applicant. It is anticipated that projects will vary from one to three years in length. Project lengths could be up to five years in rare cases due to the complexity or breadth of the subject area, or in areas proposing to investigate the longer term effects of particular forms of dissemination. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES Background The purpose of the AHCPR is to enhance the quality, appropriateness, and effectiveness of health care services and to improve access to that care. AHCPR is the Federal Government's focal point for general health services research, including medical effectiveness research, and has lead responsibility for the Medical Treatment Effectiveness Program (MEDTEP). MEDTEP projects systematically study the relationships between medical treatments and procedures and the outcomes. Patient Outcomes Research Team (PORT) projects focus on variations in clinical practice and outcomes for a particular medical condition. The AHCPR convenes expert non-Federal panels and awards contracts to develop clinical practice guidelines for specific conditions and treatments. The AHCPR Office of Technology Assessment evaluates medical devices, procedures and services and makes coverage recommendations to Federal health programs. The AHCPR intramural research program undertakes health policy research and analysis on National medical expenditures, hospital cost and utilization data, and long-term care. Health services research focuses on a broad range of policy and delivery system issues in the areas of cost and financing, primary care, and technology and quality assessment. In addition, the AHCPR is responsible for increasing the quality and quantity of data for general health services research, including medical effectiveness research. The AHCPR authorizing legislation (the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989, P.L. 101-239) requires the AHCPR to disseminate as broadly as possible the products and results of its research. This Program Announcement for demonstrations and applied research is part of the AHCPR dissemination program. The focus on "effective dissemination" is based upon a growing recognition that distribution of information does not guarantee adoption or use. The definition of effective dissemination used in this PA goes beyond the traditional concepts of diffusion and distribution of information and encompasses the process through which target groups become aware of, receive, accept, and utilize disseminated information. The test of effective use is the extent to which target audiences become more informed, make decisions, or change behavior patterns as a result of using the disseminated information. The goal of effective dissemination is to improve patient care, patient outcomes and quality of life. Early studies of innovation diffusion in the health arena examined the spread of new information, knowledge or technologies, the characteristics of the diffusion process, and the role that people and organizations played in the adoption of innovations. These studies confirmed that some innovations were not adopted or utilized and that there was a long lag time between availability and widespread use of new scientific information. Underlying many efforts to provide new clinical information or practice guidelines to practitioners has been the assumption that clinical practice behavior will change if relevant scientific evidence is effectively disseminated to health care providers and patients. The dissemination-related health literature has focused primarily on the introduction of medical technology, the flow of new information into practice, continuing medical education, and more recently on physician behavior change resulting from the diffusion of new information or clinical practice guidelines. Most of this literature has focused on practitioners and health care settings. Pertinent research related to consumers has focused on public health and health education information, the psychology of mass communications and other work related to marketing. Research directed at policy makers has examined the use of data and evaluation studies in legislative and executive settings. Objectives The objective of this Program Announcement is to stimulate new grant applications for demonstrations and applied research projects that examine the most effective means of disseminating a broad range of products (health and clinical information, research findings, clinical practice guidelines, technology assessments, policy recommendations) to a wide variety of target groups (consumers, health care practitioners, the health care industry, researchers, policy makers, and the press). Applied research in effective dissemination should be multi-disciplinary, drawing on the fields of communications and information theory, commercial marketing, social and behavioral psychology, education, computer sciences, and policy sciences. The eventual goal is for disseminated information to be assimilated and used in ways that improve the effectiveness and quality of health care services, utilization of and access to those services, and ultimately patient outcomes and quality of life. A. Audiences, media, and products of dissemination -- The audiences, media, and products of dissemination that are of interest to the AHCPR include: Audiences: Consumers (individuals or organizations); health care practitioners of all disciplines (physicians, nurses, allied health professionals, and professional organizations); the health care industry (organizations, group practices and managed care organizations, third-party payers, medical equipment manufacturers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, Federal health care systems, quality assurance and utilization review organizations); policy makers (Federal, State and local, executive and legislative, and private sector decision makers); researchers (both biomedical and general health services); and the press (popular media and newspapers, general health, trade and scientific journals). Media: Printed (direct mail, technical and trade journals, popular magazines and newspapers); and electronic (TV, radio, and electronic databases). Products: General health services research findings; clinical information; clinical practice guidelines; health technology assessments; research-based policy recommendations; and general health information for consumers. B. Types of projects supported -- The AHCPR invites applications on effective dissemination that focus on practical methods to achieve better informed audiences, improved decision making, and behavioral change that improve the delivery of health care and patient outcomes. AHCPR encourages projects that involve dissemination of AHCPR products or other research and information products similar to AHCPR products so that findings can contribute to improving the effectiveness of the dissemination program. The following types of projects will be considered responsive to this Program Announcement: 1. Demonstration projects (with appropriate research hypotheses) measuring the effectiveness of dissemination mechanisms (e.g., continuing professional education, opinion leaders, peer review and feedback, computerized systems, incentives, organizational approaches) or combinations of mechanisms in stimulating the use of disseminated information; 2. Studies examining the comparative effectiveness of different dissemination mechanisms using the same information with different audiences or different information with the same audiences; 3. Studies examining the effectiveness of different dissemination mechanisms under conditions in which the target audiences are either economically advantaged or economically disadvantaged by the behavioral change; 4. Studies examining the comparative cost of different methods of stimulating behavior change (e.g., cost measures may be calculated by cost per thousand population, magnitude of changes); 5. Longitudinal studies of sustained change in knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behavior as a result of dissemination of health and clinical information; 6. Projects designed either to improve health services research methods as applied to effective dissemination or to overcome dissemination research problems, especially projects that focus on multi-disciplinary research methods (e.g., the use of behavioral change models in health information dissemination campaigns); and 7. Innovative research on unique methods of reaching particular audiences (e.g., informing consumers to stimulate and effect practitioner behavioral change and multi-faceted dissemination campaigns). C. Research Questions -- The following questions are illustrative of the kinds of research questions that grant applications might address concerning the audiences, products, and dissemination mechanisms discussed above: o What can be learned from dissemination experiences of the past to help ensure that disseminated information is assimilated and used by target audiences? What are the crucial variables in these experiences (e.g., quality of information, format, endorsements, economic impact, targeting activities)? o How can the experience and knowledge of the commercial marketing and advertising enterprises be adapted to the dissemination of health and clinical information in the professional/patient environment to effect behavior change? o How effective are the mass media in transmitting health information to practitioners and consumers? What are the determinants of behavioral change resulting from information presented in the media? o What are the needs and preferred sources of different audiences for health and clinical information and how do these needs affect the design of dissemination strategies? What do we know about the needs of the six major groups of audiences and how do the needs differ? How do differences among audiences affect the development of dissemination strategies? o How do the attributes of disseminated products and information (credibility of source, content tailored to audience need, product format, timeliness, utility of product, adaptability, validity, ability to be evaluated) affect dissemination strategies and how are these attributes associated with acceptance and use or rejection of disseminated information? o When is the best moment in time for dissemination to take place to maximize the likelihood that it is used by a targeted audience? Does this moment differ across audiences? o Is the health belief model for disseminating health information to consumers the most appropriate one to guide dissemination strategies? What alternative models could be developed or considered? o What are the economic, social, educational, and psychological determinants of consumer and practitioner behavior in accessing and using health and clinical information? At what points in that behavior can dissemination strategies most effectively intervene to stimulate change in that behavior? o How do cultural, socioeconomic, and access factors affect the assimilation of clinical information by providers and patients within special populations or target groups and geographic areas (e.g., minority and rural)? o Who are health practitioner peers and what is the typology for their constituent groups? What are the determinants of change produced by peer influence? o How can the principles of "academic detailing" be adapted to dissemination strategies for consumers and policy makers? o What factors are associated with effective use of the professional education and continuing professional education systems in disseminating new scientific information and its adoption into clinical practice? o What roles do organizational and/or personal networks play in the dissemination process? Do networks speed the dissemination or the assimilation and use of new information? What are the implications for dissemination of the communication patterns within and between networks? o How can communication and computer technologies be designed to affect assimilation and retention by health care providers? o What is the comparative effectiveness of different systems to computerize medical practice guidelines in disseminating new clinical information to practitioners? o What is the effect of structural and process variables (e.g., multifaceted organizational relationships within provider organizations; work environment; personnel mix; administrative governance; medical direction; type of medical equipment available within an institution; degree of compliance with recommended guidelines; and level of internal communication) within different provider settings on the relationship between the assimilation of practice guidelines by providers and patient outcomes? How do these variables facilitate or hinder the dissemination and assimilation of new information and knowledge? o How do organizational factors affect the adoption of new information and innovations and when does that adoption result in decisions that improve efficiency or patient outcomes? Do different kinds of health care organizations or personnel within them (e.g., different management levels) differ in patterns of assimilation and use of information? o What is the appropriate typology for the use of new knowledge or new information by policy makers? o What is the most effective means of translating, synthesizing, or adapting data and findings from health services research and clinical trials into useful information for policy makers and decision makers at the Federal, State and local levels and the private sector? o How do economic and regulatory incentives affect the timing and nature of decisions to adopt and utilize medical practice guidelines? o What are the most effective avenues for reaching third party payers and other decision makers in the private sector with health and clinical information and research findings? What formats and products are associated with the most utility to these audiences? o How can dissemination strategies be made most cost-effective? When resources are insufficient to disseminate information broadly to all audiences, what mechanisms exist to select target groups and maximize the effectiveness of what is disseminated? STUDY POPULATIONS SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS TO APPLICANTS CONCERNING INCLUSION OF WOMEN AND MINORITIES IN RESEARCH STUDY POPULATIONS The AHCPR requires all applicants for research grants to include minorities and women in study populations so that research findings can be of benefit to all persons at risk of the disease, disorder, or condition under study. Special emphasis must be placed on the need to include minorities and women in studies of diseases, disorders and conditions which disproportionately affect them. This policy is intended to apply to males and females of all ages. If women or minorities are excluded or inadequately represented in research, a clear and compelling rationale should be provided. AHCPR will not award grants for applications which do not comply. If the required information is not contained in the application, the application will be returned without review. The composition of the proposed study population must be described in terms of gender and racial/ethnic group. In addition, gender and racial/ethnic issues should be addressed in developing a research design and sample size appropriate for the scientific objectives of the study. This information should be included in the form PHS 398 in Section 2, A-D of the Research Plan AND summarized in Section 2, E, Human Subjects. Applicants are urged to assess carefully the feasibility of including the broadest possible representation of minority groups. However, AHCPR recognizes that it may not be feasible or appropriate in all research projects to include representation of the full array of United States racial/ethnic minority populations (i.e., Native Americans, Asian/Pacific Islanders, Blacks, Hispanics). Where appropriate, the applicant must provide the rationale for studies on single minority population groups. For the purpose of this policy, clinical research includes human biomedical and behavioral studies of etiology, epidemiology, prevention (and preventive strategies), diagnosis, or treatment of diseases, disorders or conditions, including but not limited to clinical trials. The usual NIH policies concerning research on human subjects also apply. Basic research or clinical studies in which human tissues cannot be identified or linked to individuals are excluded. However, every effort should be made to include human tissues from women and racial/ethnic minorities when it is important to apply the results of the study broadly, and this should be addressed by applicants. For foreign awards, the policy on inclusion of women applies fully; since the definition of minority differs in other countries, the applicant must discuss the relevance of research involving foreign population groups to the United States' populations, including minorities. If the required information is not contained within the application, the application will be returned. Peer reviewers will address specifically whether the research plan in the application conforms to these policies. If the representation of women or minorities in a study design is inadequate to answer the scientific question(s) addressed AND the justification for the selected study population is inadequate, it will be considered a scientific weakness or deficiency in the study design and will be reflected in assigning the priority score to the application. All applications for clinical research submitted to NIH are required to address these policies. NIH funding components will not award grants or cooperative agreements that do not comply with these policies. APPLICATION PROCEDURES Applications are to be submitted on the grant application form PHS 398 (rev. 9/91) and will be accepted at the standard application deadlines as indicated in the application kit. State and local governments may use Form PHS 5161 and submit an original and two copies of the application. Application kits are available at most institutional business offices and may be obtained from the Office of Grants Inquiries, Division of Research Grants, Westwood Building, Room 449, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, telephone 301/496-7441. They may also be obtained from the Office of Scientific Review, Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, Suite 602, 2101 East Jefferson Street, Rockville, MD 20852, telephone 301/227-8449. The title and number of the Program Announcement must be typed in Section 2a on the face page of the application. The completed original application and five legible copies (two copies when using the PHS 5161) must be sent or delivered to: Division of Research Grants National Institutes of Health Westwood Building, Room 240 Bethesda, MD 20892 The Division of Research Grants (DRG) will not accept any application in response to this announcement that is essentially the same as one currently pending initial review, unless the applicant withdraws the pending application. The DRG will not accept any application that is essentially the same as one already reviewed. This does not preclude the submission of substantial revisions of applications already reviewed, but such applications must include an introduction addressing the previous critique. Applications must be received by the Division of Research Grants, NIH. The first due date is June 1, 1992. Thereafter, the due dates for application are October 1 and February 1 and June 1. However, an application received after a deadline may be acceptable if it carries a legible proof-of-mailing date assigned by the carrier and the proof-of-mailing date is not later than one week prior to the deadline date. If the receipt date falls on a weekend, it will be extended to Monday; if the date falls on a holiday, it will be extended to the following work day. The receipt date will be waived only in extenuating circumstances. To request such a waiver, an explanatory letter must be included with the application. No waiver will be granted prior to receipt of the application. REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS The review criteria for these applications are the considerations of scientific and technical excellence, which include: adequacy of the method to carry out the project; availability of the data or the proposed plan to collect the data required for the project; qualifications and experience of the Principal Investigator and proposed staff; adequacy of the plan for organizing and carrying out the project; reasonableness of the proposed budget; and adequacy of the facilities and resources available to the applicant. Upon receipt, applications will be reviewed for completeness. Incomplete applications will be returned to the applicant without further consideration. Applications will be evaluated in accordance with the criteria stated above for scientific/technical merit by an appropriate peer review group. Applications assigned to the AHCPR and that request total direct costs in excess of $250,000 will be reviewed extensively by the National Advisory Council for Health Care Policy, Research and Evaluation. Secondary review of applications will be by the appropriate National Advisory Council. AWARD CRITERIA Applications will compete for available funds with all other applications. The following will be considered in making funding decisions: Quality of the proposed project as determined by peer review, availability of funds, and program balance among research areas of the announcement. INQUIRIES Those considering applying in response to this PA are strongly encouraged to discuss the project with AHCPR program administrators in advance of formal submission. The opportunity to clarify any issues or questions from potential applicants is welcome. Direct inquiries regarding programmatic issues to: Margaret VanAmringe, Director Center for Research Dissemination and Liaison Agency for Health Care Policy and Research 2101 East Jefferson Drive, Suite 501 Rockville, MD 20892 Telephone: (301) 227-8362 Direct inquiries regarding fiscal matters to: Ralph Sloat Grants Management Officer Agency for Health Care Policy and Research 2101 East Jefferson Street, Suite 601 Rockville, MD 20857 Telephone: (301) 227-8447 AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance No. 93.180 and 93.226. Awards are made under authorization of the Public Health Service Act, Title IX, as amended (Public Law 101-239) and administered under PHS grants policies and Federal Regulations 42 CFR 67, Subpart A and 45 CFR Part 74. This program is not subject to the intergovernmental review requirements of Executive Order 12372. $$P1 END ************************************************************ $$P2 BEGIN PA-92-52 ************************************************* INTERNATIONAL AIDS EPIDEMIOLOGY RESEARCH NIH GUIDE, Volume 21, Number 10, March 13, 1992 PA NUMBER: PA-92-52 P.T. 34; K.W. 0715008, 0785055, 0710030 National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Application Receipt Dates: January 2, May 1, September 1 PURPOSE The purpose of this program announcement is to stimulate international collaborative research and research infrastructure development for the investigation of a broad range of studies on the epidemiology of Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) in foreign countries. HEALTHY PEOPLE 2000 The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the health promotion and disease prevention objectives of "Healthy People 2000," a PHS-led national activity for setting priority areas. This program announcement, International AIDS Epidemiology Research, is relevant to the priority area of HIV infection. Potential applicants may obtain a copy of "Healthy People 2000" (Full Report: Stock No. 017-001-00474-0) or "Healthy People 2000" (Summary Report: Stock No. 017-001-00473-1) through the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402-0325 (telephone 202-783-3238). ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS Research grant applications may be submitted by domestic and foreign, for-profit and non-profit organizations, public and private, such as universities, colleges, hospitals, laboratories, units of State and local governments, and eligible agencies of the Federal Government. Both foreign and domestic institutions are eligible to be the grantee institution, although all grant applications must include the participation of both eligible U.S. and foreign institutions. Applications from minority individuals and women are encouraged. MECHANISMS OF SUPPORT The mechanism of support will be the individual research project grant (R01). Policies that govern research grant programs of the National Institutes of Health will prevail. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES Applications are encouraged in areas relevant to the purpose of this program announcement. Research may include, but is not limited to: o study of the natural history of HIV infection; o identification of populations at high risk of HIV infection; o establishment of seroprevalence and seroincidence rates in selected population groups; o identification of behavioral and biological co-factors associated with HIV transmission and/or disease acquisition; o study of the clinical evolution of HIV and associated diseases; o assessment of immunological parameters of HIV infection acquisition and disease development; o correlation of HIV genetic variants with disease presentation and/or progression; o evaluation of biological and/or clinical markers of HIV infection and associated disease development; o assessment of HIV intervention strategies; and o pilot studies of preventive and therapeutic strategies. Applicants are encouraged to give high priority to research designs that promote technology transfer, development of foreign research infrastructure, and the development of self-direction and self- sufficiency in the foreign country research team. Applications for small-scale intervention studies (e.g., clinical trials of behavioral interventions or sexually transmitted diseases treatment programs) will fall within the purview of this program announcement if these studies are logically linked to the epidemiology studies, if they can be demonstrated appropriate for the given developing country, and if they are complementary to, and not redundant with, work that is already well supported. STUDY POPULATIONS SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS TO APPLICANTS REGARDING IMPLEMENTATION OF NIH POLICIES CONCERNING INCLUSION OF WOMEN AND MINORITIES IN CLINICAL RESEARCH STUDY POPULATIONS NIH and ADAMHA policy is that applicants for NIH/ADAMHA clinical research grants and cooperative agreements are required to include minorities and women in study populations so that research findings can be of benefit to all persons at risk of the disease, disorder or condition under study; special emphasis must be placed on the need for inclusion of minorities and women in studies of diseases, disorders and conditions that disproportionately affect them. This policy is intended to apply to males and females of all ages. If women or minorities are excluded or inadequately represented in clinical research, particularly in proposed population-based studies, a clear compelling rationale must be provided. The composition of the proposed study population must be described in terms of gender and racial/ethnic group. In addition, gender and racial/ethnic issues should be addressed in developing a research design and sample size appropriate for the scientific objectives of the study. This information must be included in the form PHS 398 in Section 2, A-D of the Research Plan AND summarized in Section 2, E. Human Subjects. Applicants/offerors are urged to assess carefully the feasibility of including the broadest possible representation of minority groups. However, NIH recognizes that it may not be feasible or appropriate in all research projects to include representation of the full array of United States racial/ethnic minority populations (i.e., Native Americans (including American Indians or Alaskan Natives), Asian/Pacific Islanders, Blacks, Hispanics). The rationale for studies on single minority population groups must be provided. For the purpose of this policy, clinical research is defined as human biomedical and behavioral studies of etiology, epidemiology, prevention (and preventive strategies), diagnosis, or treatment of diseases, disorders or conditions, including but not limited to clinical trials. The usual NIH policies concerning research on human subjects also apply. Basic research or clinical studies in which human tissues cannot be identified or linked to individuals are excluded. However, every effort should be made to include human tissues from women and racial/ethnic minorities when it is important to apply the results of the study broadly, and this should be addressed by applicants. For foreign awards, the policy on inclusion of women applies fully; since the definition of minority differs in other countries, the applicant must discuss the relevance of research involving foreign population groups to the United States' populations, including minorities. If the required information is not contained within the application, the review will be deferred until the information is provided. Peer reviewers will address specifically whether the research plan in the application conforms to these policies. If the representation of women or minorities in a study design is inadequate to answer the scientific question(s) addressed AND the justification for the selected study population is inadequate, it will be considered a scientific weakness or deficiency in the study design and will be reflected in assigning the priority score to the application. All applications for clinical research submitted to NIH are required to address these policies. NIH funding components will not award grants or cooperative agreements that do not comply with these policies. APPLICATION PROCEDURES Applicants are to use the research grant application form PHS 398 (rev. 9/91). For purposes of identification and processing, check "yes" on item 2 of the face page of the application and enter the title: "PA-92-52, International AIDS Epidemiology Research." Applications will be accepted in accordance with the standard submission dates for new investigator-initiated AIDS research grant applications: January 2, May 1, and September 1. Application kits are available at most institutional business offices and may be obtained from the Office of Grants Inquiries, Division of Research Grants, Westwood Building, Room 449, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, telephone (301) 496-7441. The completed original application and five legible copies must be sent or delivered to: Division of Research Grants National Institutes of Health Westwood Building, Room 240 Bethesda, MD 20892** REVIEW PROCEDURES Applications will be assigned on the basis of established PHS referral guidelines. Applications will be reviewed for scientific and technical merit by study sections (specifically assigned to review AIDS applications) of the Division of Research Grants, NIH, in accordance with the standard NIH peer review procedures. Following scientific-technical review, the applications will receive a second-level review by an appropriate national advisory council or board. AWARD CRITERIA Applications will compete for available funds with all other approved applications. The following will be considered in making funding decisions: quality of the proposed project as determined by peer review; availability of funds; and program balance among research areas of the announcement. INQUIRIES Questions regarding programmatic aspects of this program announcement may be directed to: Robert D. Fischer, M.D., M.P.H. Deputy Branch Chief for International Health Epidemiology Branch, CRP, DAIDS National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases 6003 Executive Boulevard Bethesda, MD 20892 Telephone: (301) 496-6177 FAX: (301) 402-0443 FOR EXPRESS MAIL CORRESPONDENCE WITH DR. FISCHER, USE THE SAME ADDRESS ABOVE WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE CITY AND ZIP. INSTEAD OF "BETHESDA, MD 20819", USE "ROCKVILLE, MD 20852." Questions regarding fiscal matters may be directed to: Ms. Jane Unsworth Chief, DAIDS Section, Grants Management Branch National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases 6003 Executive Boulevard, Solar Building Bethesda, MD 20892 Telephone: (301) 496-6177 Fax: (301) 402-1506 AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance No. 93.856 Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Research, and No. 93.855 Allergy, Immunology, and Transplantation Research. Awards are made under authorization of the Public Health Service Act, Title IV, Part A (Public Law 78-410, as amended by Public Law 99-158, 42 USC 241 and 285) and administered under PHS grants policies and Federal Regulations 42 CFR 52 and 45 CFR Part 74. This program is not subject to the intergovernmental review requirements of Executive Order 12372 or Health Systems Agency review. Authority for the international aspects of this program are provided by Public Law 86-610, the "International Health Act of 1960" and Public Law 100-607, the "Health Omnibus Program Extension Act of 1988." $$P2 END ************************************************************