Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Interventions to Promote Mental Well-Being in Populations that Experience Health Disparities through Social, Cultural, and Environmental Connectedness

Contacts by research area are listed on the program website.

This opportunity is a Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) for research on intervention projects to promote mental well-being and/or prevent mental health problems by fostering social, cultural, or environmental connectedness in one or more populations that experience health disparities.

Disparity populations include:

• Black Americans and African Americans
• Hispanics and Latinos
• American Indians and Alaska Natives
• Asian Americans
• Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders
• Socioeconomically disadvantaged populations
• Underserved rural populations
• Sexual and gender minorities
• People living with disabilities

Required features for projects:

• Develop and/or evaluate interventions that address factors at multiple socioecological levels (individual, interpersonal, organizational, and/or community) to promote and sustain connectedness
• Include a theoretically informed conceptual model that specifies the hypothesized pathways between connectedness, mental well-being, and/or other distal health outcomes
• Include appropriate measurement and analytic plans designed to evaluate hypothesized pathways and the impact of multi-level or higher-level (interpersonal, organizational, community, or societal) mechanisms of action on outcomes as appropriate
• Be adequately powered to identify intervention effects for the health disparity population(s) of focus and/or the impact of the intervention on reducing or eliminating disparities in mental well-being and/or other distal health outcomes
• Use appropriate study designs that allow for a rigorous evaluation of the intervention's impact on the proposed outcomes

Eligible applicants include:

• Higher education institutions
  • Public/state controlled institutions
  • Private institutions
• Nonprofit organizations
  • With 501(c)(3) status
  • Without 501(c)(3) status
  • Native American tribal organizations
  • Faith-based or community-based organizations
  • Regional organizations
• Governments
  • State
  • County
  • City or township
  • Special districts
  • Federally recognized Indian/Native American tribal governments
  • Indian/Native American tribal governments (other than federally recognized)
  • Eligible agencies of the federal government
  • U.S. territory or possession
• Other
  • Independent school districts
  • Public housing authorities
  • Indian housing authorities
  • Small businesses
  • For-profit organizations

Award amounts are based on the related NIH announcement.

This opportunity is attached to related NIH announcements which are listed in a table on the program website.

Applicants should submit proposals to the related announcement and indicate that it is a response to the NOSI.

Investigators planning to submit an application are strongly encouraged to contact and discuss their proposed research with program staff well in advance of the anticipated submission date to better determine appropriateness and interest.

This NOSI expires on September 8, 2026.