Strengthening the HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Care Continuum through Behavioral, Social, and Implementation Science (R01) | PA 17 104

Opportunity Information: Apply for PA 17 104

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity titled "Strengthening the HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Care Continuum through Behavioral, Social, and Implementation Science (R01)" (Funding Opportunity Number: PA 17 104) is a discretionary grant program that supports health-related research aimed at improving how PrEP is delivered, used, and sustained in real-world settings. It focuses on the PrEP care continuum, meaning the full pathway from identifying people who could benefit from PrEP, to linking them to services, initiating PrEP, supporting adherence and persistence, providing ongoing monitoring and follow-up, and ultimately achieving better HIV prevention outcomes. The FOA is positioned within CFDA 93.242 and uses the NIH R01 mechanism, which generally indicates support for substantial, hypothesis-driven research projects with strong scientific rationale and clearly defined aims.

The opportunity specifically calls for behavioral, social, and implementation science research in three major areas. First, it funds studies that identify where the PrEP continuum breaks down and why, including the individual, interpersonal, community, clinical, structural, and policy factors that contribute to these gaps. This can include barriers such as stigma, mistrust, low risk perception, mental health or substance use challenges, transportation and clinic access issues, insurance and cost barriers, provider knowledge and bias, and system-level problems like fragmented referral processes or limited PrEP capacity in certain care settings. The emphasis is not only on describing gaps but also on identifying determinants, meaning the underlying drivers that can be targeted with interventions.

Second, the FOA supports the development and testing of interventions designed to strengthen PrEP delivery and outcomes. This can involve interventions at multiple levels, including patient-facing strategies (for example, tailored navigation, adherence support, digital reminders, peer support, or stigma-reduction approaches), provider-focused strategies (such as training, decision support tools, or workflow redesign), and clinic or community-level implementation approaches (including task shifting, telehealth models, pharmacy-based PrEP, integration into primary care, STI clinics, or community-based organizations, and improved referral and retention systems). Because the FOA highlights implementation science, it encourages applicants to think beyond efficacy and address practical questions of how to adopt, implement, scale, and sustain PrEP programs in diverse settings, including how to measure reach, fidelity, cost, feasibility, acceptability, and long-term maintenance.

Third, a central goal of the announcement is to reduce disparities in PrEP uptake and use, with explicit attention to racial and ethnic inequities and age-related gaps. In practice, this means NIH is looking for projects that do not treat disparities as an afterthought, but instead make equity a core outcome. The FOA is oriented toward improving access and continuity of PrEP among populations that have historically had lower PrEP uptake despite high HIV risk, including many Black and Hispanic/Latino communities and younger people who may face unique barriers related to confidentiality, healthcare access, stigma, and engagement with prevention services. Competitive projects under this announcement would typically be expected to define the disparity being addressed, explain the mechanisms producing it, and test interventions that are culturally responsive and structurally informed.

Eligibility for this opportunity is broad, reflecting an intent to bring in applicants from many sectors involved in HIV prevention. Eligible applicants include state, county, city or township governments, special district governments, independent school districts, and public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, as well as public and state-controlled institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education. The FOA also allows applications from federally recognized tribal governments and tribal organizations (including those other than federally recognized tribal governments), nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status, for-profit organizations other than small businesses, small businesses, and other entities. In addition, the FOA explicitly notes other 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, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, and even non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations). This wide eligibility is consistent with the FOA's emphasis on implementation and community-relevant solutions, since many of the most impactful PrEP delivery innovations occur through partnerships among academic researchers, public health agencies, and community providers.

Administratively, this is an NIH grant opportunity with a creation date of 2017-01-09 and an original closing date listed as 2018-01-24 in the source data provided. The award ceiling and expected number of awards are not specified in the provided fields, which typically means applicants would need to consult the full NIH FOA text and related NIH Institute/Center guidance to understand budget expectations, project period norms, and any institute-specific priorities. Overall, the purpose of the FOA is to generate actionable evidence about where and why PrEP delivery fails across the continuum and to rigorously test interventions that make PrEP easier to access, start, and continue, particularly for populations experiencing persistent disparities in HIV prevention benefits.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Strengthening the HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Care Continuum through Behavioral, Social, and Implementation Science (R01)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.242.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-01-09.
• 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.

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