April 5, 2021

Funding opportunity on impact of structural racism and discrimination on minority health and health disparities

The National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) is leading an initiative to support observational or interventional research to understand and address the impact of structural racism and discrimination on minority health and health disparities.

Prior research has focused on the health consequences of structural racism and discrimination exposures (e.g., interpersonal racism or residential segregation) and not on community strategies to reduce or mitigate those exposures. Intervention research has rarely emphasized reduction of structural racism and discrimination as a strategy to improve health and reduce disparities. Research on mitigation is needed to inform health care and social policies at all levels.

NIMHD and participating NIH institutes and centers have issued a funding opportunity announcement for projects that use approaches that encompass multiple research domains (e.g., behavioral, socio-cultural, health system) and multiple levels (e.g., community, societal) to understand and address the impact of structural racism and discrimination in order to improve minority health, promote health equity, and eliminate health disparities (see the NIMHD Research Framework).

Projects must address structural racism and discrimination in one or more NIH-designated health disparity populations in the U.S. and discuss documented disparities in health outcomes. Applications should provide a justification for 1) why the specific types of discrimination constitute structural racism and discrimination, such as how the racism or discrimination is structural rather than reflecting individual-level behavior and 2) how the structural racism and discrimination results in differential treatment or outcomes for less advantaged individuals, groups, or populations. The due date is August 24, 2021.