Biomedical and Behavioral Research Innovations to Ensure Equity in Maternal and Child Health

by: Michael Saunders

The National Institutes of Health, otherwise known as the NIH, is an agency operating within the United States Department of Health and Human Services that's essentially responsible for looking after the nation's biomedical and health-related research studies.

The grants and initiatives of the NIH are all specifically tailored to help achieve its general agency mission which is to "seek fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce the burdens of illness and disability."

In keeping with this mission, the National Institutes of Health has recently partnered with the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) to establish the Biomedical and Behavioral Research Innovations to Ensure Equity (BRITE) in Maternal and Child Health Grant Program.

The program initially seeks to increase the diversity of the research who are involved in health equity research studies associated with infant mortality; Sudden Infant Death Syndrome; child, adolescent, and/or adult obesity; uterine fibroids; pediatric and maternal HIV/AIDS prevention; violence prevention; health literacy; and outreach and information dissemination.

In addition, the BRITE program also intends to kickstart maternal and child health equity research studies from institutions which are eligible for the Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) R15 program.

  (continued...)

Biomedical and Behavioral Research Innovations to Ensure Equity in Maternal and Child Health
  Page 2

About The Author Michael Saunders is an editor of TopGovernmentGrants.com one the the most comprehensive Websites offering information on government grants and federal government programs. He also maintains Websites providing resources on environmental grants and grants for youth programs.

Additional Resources

category - Health Grants

Advanced Education Nursing Traineeship Program
In keeping with this mission, the Health Resources and Services Administration has recently constituted the Advanced Education Nursing Traineeship Program wherein it aims to increase the number of primary care providers through the provision of training programs to nurses who are pursuing advanced degrees primary care nurse practitioners (NP) or nurse-midwives.

---

Critical Congenital Heart Disease Newborn Screening Demonstration Program
The Health Resources and Services Administration has recently constituted the Critical Congenital Heart Disease (CCHD) Newborn Screening Demonstration Program in order to support and encourage the development, dissemination, and validation of screening protocols and newborn screening infrastructure for point of care screenings that are specific to Critical Congenital Heart Diseases.

---

National Institutes of Health funds the Improving Adherence to Treatment Regimens for HIV-Positive Adolescents and Young Adults
The National Institutes of Health has recently established a program entitled Improving Adherence to Treatment Regimens for HIV-Positive Adolescents and Young Adults wherein they intend to kick-off research studies that will create, implement, and evaluate both old and new interventions that are geared towards improving adherence to medical and behavioral regimens for HIV-positive adolescents which are 11 to 21 years old and adults who are 21 to 24 years old.

---

Cancer Education Grants Program
The National Cancer Institute has developed the Cancer Education Grants Program wherein it seeks to financially support innovative educational efforts that would contribute to the reduction of cancer incidences, morbidity and mortality rates; as well as the improvement of the quality of life of surviving cancer patients.

---