Draft Statement of Work - NIMHD DIR IDIQ Population Health Research Contract

National Institutes of Health
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) Population Health and Clinical Research
Draft Statement of Work

1.0INTRODUCTION

1.1Background Information
The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) conducts and supports research and training programs to advance knowledge and understanding of health disparities, identify mechanisms to improve minority health and reduce health disparities, and develop effective interventions in community and clinical settings. NIMHD is the lead organization at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for planning, reviewing, coordinating, and evaluating minority health and health disparities research activities. NIMHD also promotes workforce development, supports research capacity at less-resourced institutions that train students in research careers, serves populations experiencing health disparities, supports participation in clinical research, and promotes information dissemination through regular communications, public education outreach, and scientific presentations. The President’s Executive Order (EO) 14212 Establishing the President’s Make America Healthy Again Commission aims to improve the health of Americans. As described in the EO, escalating burden of chronic diseases poses significant challenges in the United States. These conditions contribute to rising health costs, reduced workforce productivity, and stagnant life expectancies across the country, both in adults and children. NIH defines a health disparity as a measurable difference in health that exists between specific population groups. This is a rigorously derived and data-driven determination operationalized by quantifiable metrics, rather than a statement of attribution. It is a scientific starting point that identifies where health outcomes diverge, not a predetermined conclusion about why. Scientific investigations to identify or understand the root causes are separate and distinct scientific questions, which are multifaceted and complex. NIH funded research is interested in those health disparities that are modifiable or actionable to improve the health of all population groups. Health disparities may be observed in the risks, prevalence, or problems resulting from specific behaviors, as well as the incidence, prevalence, and mortality from conditions, diseases, and/or disorders. To fulfill the NIH mission of seeking fundamental knowledge about the nature and behaviors of individuals as living systems, and the statutory purpose of NIMHD, as outlined in the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. § 285t), to conduct research to understand and reduce health disparities, NIMHD Division of Intramural Research (DIR) conducts population health research to understand how health outcomes vary across populations, identify multilevel modifiable factors that drive these disparities, and develop, test, and evaluate clinical and population-based interventions to reduce these disparities.