Increasing the Use of Medications for the Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorders (R01) | PAR 17 079

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 17 079

The Increasing the Use of Medications for the Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorders (R01) funding opportunity (PAR 17-079) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grant announcement led by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). It focuses on health services research aimed at expanding the real-world public health impact of medications that are already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat alcohol use disorder (AUD). The core idea is that effective pharmacotherapies exist, but they remain underused in routine care, so the program is looking for rigorous research that helps close the gap between evidence and everyday clinical practice.

The FOA emphasizes the need for strategies that are generalizable, scalable, and cost-effective, meaning interventions should be designed so they can work across many different settings and populations, not just in a single clinic or tightly controlled research environment. NIAAA is specifically seeking hypothesis-driven studies that test clear, measurable approaches for increasing the use of currently available AUD medications in both general medical environments (like primary care and other mainstream health systems) and specialty addiction treatment settings. In other words, the goal is not to develop new medications, but to improve how frequently and how well existing medications are actually offered, prescribed, initiated, and sustained as part of treatment.

A major theme of the announcement is addressing practical and behavioral barriers that keep AUD medications from being used more widely. Proposed research is expected to tackle factors such as acceptability (whether clinicians are comfortable prescribing and whether patients are willing to take these medications), perceived effectiveness (beliefs and expectations among providers and patients about whether medications will help), affordability (cost barriers, insurance coverage issues, and financial access), and feasibility within existing care delivery systems (how medications fit into workflows, staffing, training, clinical protocols, and organizational capacity). The intent is to identify methods that improve adoption and implementation in realistic conditions, where time constraints, competing demands, and limited resources are common.

This is an R01 mechanism, which generally supports substantial, multi-year research projects. The activity category is Health, and the associated CFDA number is 93.273. The agency listed is NIH, and the opportunity is categorized as discretionary grant funding. The original closing date shown for this opportunity is 2018-01-24, and the posting indicates a creation date of 2016-12-12. An award ceiling is not specified in the provided listing, and the expected number of awards is not shown.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based organizations and government entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, city or township governments, and special district governments, as well as independent school districts. Higher education institutions are eligible, including public and state-controlled institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education. Tribal eligibility includes federally recognized Native American tribal governments and tribal organizations that are not federally recognized tribal governments, along with tribally controlled colleges and universities. Other eligible applicants include public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities, nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (excluding those that are institutions of higher education), and for-profit organizations other than small businesses, as well as small businesses and other applicant types listed in the opportunity.

The FOA also explicitly highlights additional eligible applicant categories, including Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs). It also notes faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal government agencies, Indian/Native American tribal governments other than federally recognized entities, and U.S. territories or possessions as eligible.

At the same time, there are firm restrictions related to foreign involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply. Non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. In addition, foreign components, as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are not allowed under this announcement. In practice, this means the proposed work must be fully grounded in eligible U.S. applicant organizations without foreign components embedded in the project structure.

Overall, this grant opportunity is aimed at producing actionable evidence about what works to boost the uptake of FDA-approved AUD medications in everyday care. NIAAA is signaling that progress will come from implementation-focused, systems-aware research that deals directly with real barriers in clinics and communities, and that can be scaled so more patients can benefit from treatments that already have strong evidence behind 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)" 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 2016-12-12.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2018-01-24. (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 17 079

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