Improving the Reach and Quality of Cancer Care in Rural Populations (R01 Clinical Trial Required) | RFA CA 19 064

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA CA 19 064

Improving the Reach and Quality of Cancer Care in Rural Populations (R01 Clinical Trial Required) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity (RFA-CA-19-064; CFDA 93.393) that supports research aimed at lowering the cancer burden and improving the quality of cancer care in rural communities, with an emphasis on low-income and underserved populations. The overall intent is to generate practical, evidence-based strategies that make cancer diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship care more accessible, higher quality, and better aligned with the realities of rural settings, where patients often face structural barriers like distance to care, limited specialty services, workforce shortages, and financial constraints.

The announcement invites two broad types of R01 applications, and both are designed to move beyond describing disparities and toward producing actionable solutions. First, applicants may propose observational research that includes pilot testing of an intervention. In this pathway, the main goal is to identify, understand, and begin to address predictors of cancer care and outcomes in rural low-income or underserved groups. This includes studying how social determinants of health (such as income, insurance status, housing instability, transportation access, broadband access, employment conditions, education, and social support) and other barriers to care influence whether people can obtain timely diagnosis, evidence-based treatment, and appropriate follow-up. The observational focus is not purely descriptive; it is paired with pilot testing so researchers can explore feasibility and early signals of impact for strategies that may mitigate those predictors or barriers.

Second, applicants may propose intervention research that targets known predictors of cancer care, treatment, and outcomes in these rural populations. Here, the emphasis is on improving quality of care across the cancer continuum, including diagnosis, active treatment, and survivorship. Projects in this category are expected to design, adapt, implement, and rigorously test interventions that improve care delivery or patient outcomes, recognizing that many existing cancer control interventions were built for better-resourced or urban/suburban contexts and are not ready for direct rollout in low-income rural areas without thoughtful modification. In other words, the FOA is looking for research that accounts for rural constraints and tests interventions in real-world rural environments, rather than assuming that solutions validated elsewhere will translate as-is.

A key theme across the opportunity is implementation relevance for rural settings. The FOA explicitly notes that most established cancer control interventions are not immediately suitable for dissemination in low-income rural communities, so proposed work should focus on developing, adapting, and/or implementing interventions in ways that fit local systems, patient needs, and resource limitations. This can include tailoring interventions for clinics with limited oncology specialization, working with regional referral networks, incorporating telehealth where feasible, addressing transportation and scheduling barriers, improving care coordination, strengthening survivorship support, or building partnerships with community-based organizations that can extend the reach of cancer services.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based organizations and governmental entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, city, township, and special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; tribal organizations (including those other than federally recognized tribal governments); public housing authorities; nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations (other than small businesses) and small businesses; and other eligible entities. The FOA also highlights additional eligible applicant categories such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian serving institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), along with faith-based or community-based organizations and regional organizations. U.S. territories or possessions may also apply. Foreign organizations and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible; foreign components as defined by NIH policy are not allowed.

Administratively, this is an NIH discretionary grant mechanism using the R01 activity code, and it is designated as a clinical trial required opportunity, meaning studies that meet NIH’s definition of a clinical trial are expected as part of the proposed work. The original closing date listed for the opportunity was January 15, 2020, and the posting date was September 12, 2019. The notice does not provide an award ceiling or expected number of awards in the provided text, so applicants would typically confirm funding details, budget guidance, and any institute-specific priorities in the full FOA and related NIH notices.

In practical terms, competitive applications for this opportunity would be expected to focus tightly on rural low-income and underserved populations, clearly justify why the selected predictors or care gaps matter for cancer outcomes, and present a strong plan either to (1) study mechanisms and mediators such as social determinants and barriers while pilot-testing a promising intervention approach, or (2) test an intervention designed to improve quality of cancer care in diagnosis, treatment, or survivorship. Successful proposals would also typically demonstrate meaningful engagement with rural communities and care systems, show how the intervention fits the rural context, and define measurable outcomes related to care access, timeliness, quality, patient-centered outcomes, and/or disparities reduction.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Improving the Reach and Quality of Cancer Care in Rural Populations (R01 Clinical Trial Required)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.393.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2019-09-12.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-01-15. (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.

Apply for RFA CA 19 064

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: