PAR-25-284
Innovative Pilot Mental Health Services Research Not Involving Clinical Trials (R34 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
Summary
PAR-25-284: Innovative Pilot Mental Health Services Research
Research Focus
This R34 planning grant supports pilot mental health services research designed to strengthen delivery of high-quality mental health services and reduce disparities in access, continuity, quality, and outcomes. The program targets non-clinical trial research addressing gaps in mental health service utilization—approximately half of people with mental illness and only two-thirds of adults with serious mental illness receive services annually, with even lower rates in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
Research should identify mutable factors (patient, provider, organizational, policy-level, and social determinants of health) affecting mental health service access, continuity, utilization, quality, value, and scalability. Applicants may develop and test new research tools, technologies, measures, statistical approaches, or advanced computational and predictive analytic methods to study these issues. Studies employing natural experiments, survey or mixed-methods research, clinical epidemiology, or refinement of financing approaches are encouraged. Research targeting early psychosis, autism spectrum disorders, and other conditions across the lifespan is welcome. NIMH prioritizes deployment-focused studies leveraging research-practice partnerships with stakeholders (healthcare systems, payers, clinicians, service users, community organizations) to ensure findings are feasible, scalable, and practice-relevant.
At-a-Glance
- Who can apply: Not stated (see full Application Guide for institutional eligibility)
- Funding & project length: Not stated in overview
- Award mechanism: R34 planning grant (clinical trials not allowed)
- Key dates: Applications due February 16, 2025 (and subsequent rolling deadlines through October 2027); earliest start December 2025
- Best fit for: Mental health services researchers, health services researchers, and implementation scientists studying access, quality improvement, disparities reduction, and service delivery optimization in mental health care settings
Key Facts
Deadline
Fri, January 7, 2028
Posted
Mon, December 30, 2024
Award / Year (direct costs)
$100,000
Max Total
$300,000
Max Duration
3 years
Keywords
Research Areas
Gotchas (1)
R34 mechanism explicitly prohibits clinical trial designs; applicants must ensure their study does not prospectively assign participants to interventions
95%
Source Text
“Studies that evaluate interventions must not employ NIH-defined clinical trial designs (e.g., must not prospectively assign participants to one or more interventions).”