Understanding the Supply of Professional Dementia Care Providers and Their Decisions (U54 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA AG 24 024

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA AG 24 024

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is offering a cooperative agreement opportunity (U54; clinical trial not allowed) titled "Understanding the Supply of Professional Dementia Care Providers and Their Decisions" (RFA AG 24 024; CFDA 93.866). The purpose is to build a major national research resource focused on the professional dementia care workforce by conducting a large, national survey of dementia care providers and then, for respondents who agree, linking those survey data to administrative records. The overall idea is to move beyond what surveys alone can tell us by pairing self-reported information about providers and their workplaces with real-world operational and clinical data sources, creating a richer, more accurate foundation for workforce and health services research in Alzheimers disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD).

At the center of the project is a national survey targeting professional dementia care providers across multiple roles. This includes physicians and other licensed or credentialed care professionals involved in dementia care, such as licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and social workers, among others. A key design feature is intentional oversampling of individuals from populations that have been underrepresented in AD/ADRD research, as well as oversampling institutions that predominantly serve underrepresented populations. This emphasis is meant to ensure the resulting dataset can support meaningful analyses of disparities and the structural factors that shape dementia care delivery in different communities, rather than reproducing the limitations seen in many existing workforce studies where certain groups and settings are not adequately represented.

The linked-data component is a major part of what NIH is trying to enable. For survey participants who consent, the project would connect provider-level and institution-level survey responses to administrative data such as electronic health records, insurance claims, payroll records, and other institutional or state-level data. This linkage is intended to support deeper research into the supply of skilled dementia care labor, how care teams and institutions organize and deliver dementia-related services, and how workforce conditions translate into measurable patterns of care. By integrating administrative sources with survey responses, researchers can study topics like staffing levels, workforce stability, compensation structures, care utilization, and outcomes in ways that are difficult or impossible using either source alone.

The opportunity is also explicitly aimed at understanding variation: how differences in provider characteristics (training, experience, role, background) and institutional characteristics (setting, resources, patient mix, organizational practices) contribute to differences in the care that people living with dementia receive. NIH highlights that this resource should help identify modifiable individual and organizational behaviors, meaning practical factors that can be changed through policy, management decisions, training, or workflow redesign. The larger goal is to improve overall dementia care delivery while also addressing and reducing AD/ADRD disparities, especially in settings serving communities that have historically been overlooked in research.

Because this is a U54 cooperative agreement, the award mechanism signals substantial involvement from NIH program staff during the project period compared with a typical research project grant. In practice, that usually means the funded team is expected to coordinate closely with NIH on study design choices, data elements, linkage approach, governance, and dissemination plans, with an emphasis on producing a broadly useful national resource rather than a single narrow research study. The notice also specifies "clinical trial not allowed," indicating the work is focused on data resource development, survey implementation, and observational analyses rather than testing an intervention in a clinical trial framework.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based organizations and governments. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local governments; special districts; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; Native American tribal organizations other than federally recognized governments; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and other entities. NIH also calls out additional eligible applicants such as 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), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, and certain tribal governments that are not federally recognized. Foreign institutions are not eligible to apply, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible; however, foreign components as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement are allowed, which generally means limited, well-justified foreign involvement can be included under NIH rules without the applicant being a foreign institution.

Administrative details from the posting include the agency (NIH), the original closing date listed as 2023-02-03, and a posted award ceiling that is not specified in the provided text. Taken together, the opportunity is best understood as NIH investing in a national, linkable data infrastructure focused on professional dementia care providers and the institutions that employ them, specifically designed to enable stronger workforce research and to illuminate actionable pathways for improving dementia care quality and equity across the United States.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Understanding the Supply of Professional Dementia Care Providers and Their Decisions (U54 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.866.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2022-12-23.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-02-03. (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 RFA AG 24 024

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