CHSR Research Grants

Vanderbilt Center for Health Services Research
RESEARCH GRANT PROGRAM | call for applications

INTRODUCTION

The Center for Health Services Research (CHSR) supports research to develop, implement, and evaluate interdisciplinary solutions to improve health care delivery, equity of care, and health outcomes for patients, families, and the community.

We are pleased to announce the 2023 cycle of the CHSR Research Grant Program. The goal of this intramural program is to support innovative research projects that seek to advance equity in health care delivery and health outcomes.

Health equity is “the state in which everyone has a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health.”1 Every person deserves equal access to quality health care, yet social determinants of health and structural racism result in unjust variations. To achieve health equity, health care systems, policies, and practices must address the racial, social, economic, and environmental obstacles that create and perpetuate health disparities, resulting in poor health outcomes in minoritized populations.

 1https://www.cdc.gov/healthequity/index.html

DESCRIPTION

CHSR Research Grants are intended to support discrete research projects that can be completed in a 12-month timeframe of July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024. This program will support up to 2 research projects with up to $10,000 per award. These grants are not intended to supplement already funded research projects, unless it is to add a new element related to equity in health care delivery or outcomes.

Examples of suitable research topics are provided below, each of which may be relevant to a specific clinical discipline, health condition, or population. All research projects with an intervention/change must include an evaluation of the initiative.

  • Implementation of social drivers of health screening in clinical care
  • Collection or use of accurate race, ethnicity, and language (REaL) data or other demographic data
  • Trust/mistrust or experiences with racism in research or clinical care
  • Embedding social justice and equity perspectives in approaches to reduce disparities in care and promote health equity
  • Mitigation of structural racism or bias to improve health care access or quality
  • Advancing health equity through transformational community engagement

Additional guidance on key strategies to advance health equity may be found in “An Equity Agenda for the Field of Health Care Quality Improvement”, a discussion paper by the National Academy of Medicine.

Funding up to $10,000 may be used for research staff, participant compensation, production of materials, related research expenses, services from a VUMC/VU core, or publication costs. Travel to conduct research or present findings at a relevant conference is allowed, with a limit of $1,200 and within the award year. Faculty effort is not an allowable expense. All funded projects must be completed within 12 months of award, by June 30, 2024.

All faculty, trainees, and students at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Vanderbilt University, and Meharry Medical College are eligible to apply. Trainees/students may apply to serve as the principal investigator but must have a faculty mentor who is actively involved with the project.

The submission deadline is May 3, 2023 - 11:59 pm CDT.

Review criteria will include significance of the research topic, scientific rigor of the approach, innovation, and potential impact of the project. Projects with a focus on local patient populations or community partnerships will receive priority for funding. Applications that seek to develop preliminary data for an extramural grant submission are encouraged. The NIH has launched new initiatives to end structural racism in health care, in addition to its longstanding funding opportunities in health disparities and health equity. Award decisions will be made by a review committee and announcements will be sent to the awardees in June 2023.

HOW TO APPLY

There are 3 parts to the submission process:

  1. Complete a short REDCap form at this link:  https://redcap.link/CHSRgrant2023
  2. Prepare a brief budget (template is provided at the link above) and attach it to the REDCap form.
  3. Prepare a research proposal and attach it to the REDCap form.

REDCap form: Asks for the name of the PI, mentor (if applicable), co-investigators, project title, and brief project description, as well as a brief narrative bio of the PI (and mentor if applicable).

Budget: Itemize using the form provided, providing a very brief description or justification for each item.

Proposal: Include the sections detailed below. The proposal should NOT EXCEED 4 PAGES in 11-point type, single spaced. The reference list is not included in the 4-page limit. It should be submitted as a Word or pdf document as an attachment in the REDCap form.

Proposal format:

  1. Title of Project
  2. Brief overview and objectives: Why are you undertaking this project?  What research question do you hope to address using this grant funding? How will this project advance health equity?
  3. Project plan:  
  1. Background
  2. Research question(s) and hypotheses
  3. Methods – Include study design, setting, description of study participants, intervention (if applicable), outcome measures, and analysis/evaluation plan
  4. Innovation
  5. Anticipated outcomes – What will the project accomplish if successful? Will it lead to future research, programs, or patient benefit?
  6. Timeline – Grant activities must be completed within 12 months of award.

Other responsibilities of the PI:

A PI may submit only one proposal. The reviewers may request clarifying information or revisions before making final award decisions.

An interim progress report is due approximately 6 months from the start date.  A final report is due at the end of the funding period and should include a description of future plans relevant to the proposal. The PI will be invited to present the project findings at a CHSR research seminar. The PI should also submit a research abstract to a relevant national conference or manuscript to a suitable peer-reviewed journal upon completion of the project. 

CONTACT INFORMATION
For any questions, please email Robyn Tamboli, PhD at robyn.tamboli@vumc.org.

MATERIALS