The
purpose of the Loan Repayment Program for Health Disparities Research
is to encourage the recruitment and retention of qualified health
professionals to conduct minority health or other health disparities
research that consists of either basic, clinical, and behavioral
research on minority health or other health disparity conditions,
including research to prevent, diagnose, and treat such conditions
as diseases, disorders, and other conditions including mental health
and substance abuse that are unique to, more serious, or more prevalent
in racial and ethnic minorities or sub-populations that are economically
disadvantaged and medically underserved, OR for which the medical
risk factors or types of medical interventions may be different,
OR research involving such populations as subjects or data on such
individuals is insufficient.
TYPES
OF ASSISTANCE:
Project Grants. Place Cursor Here for Definition
USES
AND USE RESTRICTIONS:
To provide repayment of
existing educational loan debt incurred by health professionals
engaged in basic, clinical, and behavioral research on minority
health or other health disparity conditions. Recipients must execute
a written contract agreeing to engage in such research for a minimum
of two years. The Director, NCMHD, may grant extension contracts
for one-year periods after the completion of the initial two-year
contract, provided that the participant applies for an extension,
continues to engage in qualified research, and there is sufficient
repayable debt remaining.
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:
Applicant Eligibility:
An eligible applicant must: (1) be a citizen, national, or permanent
resident of the United States; (2) have a Ph.D., M.D., D.O., D.D.S.,
D.M.D., Psy.D., Pharm.D., N.D., Sc.D., or other equivalent doctorate
degree; (3) have qualifying outstanding educational loan debt equal
to or in excess of a certain percentage of the applicant?s annual
salary, stipend, and compensation at the time an application is
submitted; (4) not be an employee of NIH; (5) have research sponsors
or mentors with experience in the area of proposed research and
may be enrolled in a training program or appointed under a temporary
or permanent employment mechanism for at least two years; (6) have
institutional assurance of employment or affiliation with an institution
or program for a minimum of two years; (7) agree to conduct qualified
minority health or other health disparities research for a minimum
of two years; (8) not be under any existing service obligations
to Federal, State, or other entities, unless and until the existing
service obligation is discharged or deferred during the period of
program service; and (9) not have Federal judgment liens against
their property arising from a Federal debt from receiving Federal
funds until all judgments have been paid in full or otherwise satisfied.
Beneficiary Eligibility:
Qualified health professionals who conduct minority health or
other health disparities research and who possess substantial
unpaid educational debt relative to income will benefit from this
program.
Credentials/Documentation:
An applicant must submit the following documentation: (1) all
required forms, completed, signed and dated; (2) proposed research
and training plan; (3) the credentials or curriculum vitae of
the applicant and all mentors/advisors; (4) a description of the
research/training environment; (5) institutional assurance; (6)
loan verification forms for each educational loan being submitted
for repayment along with corresponding promissory notes, loan
applications and school budgets; (7) recommendations; (8) contract;
and (9) other documentation as may be required by law, regulation,
or guidelines.
Pre-application
Coordination: Not applicable. This program is
excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.
Application Procedure:
An application for participation in the program can be obtained
from www.lrp.nih.gov and should be submitted to the NIH office,
which is responsible for the receipt of applications, in such
form and manner as the Director may prescribe.
Award Procedure:
All eligible and completed applications will be forwarded to the
NCMHD Loan Repayment Review Panel (Panel), chaired by the Deputy
Director, NCMHD, for review. Awards will be made to those applications
approved by the Panel, subject to the receipt of an appropriation
and/or allocation of funds from the United States Congress, the
NIH and/or NCMHD. All selections are subject to final approval
by the Director, NCMHD. As specified by statute, the Director,
NCMHD, must ensure that at least 50 percent of the awards are
made to qualified health professionals who are members of health
disparities populations.
Deadlines:
Contact the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities
listed below for application deadlines.
Range of Approval/Disapproval
Time: The approximate time for approval/disapproval
is 5-6 months.
Appeals:
Applicants may question the substantive or procedural aspects
of the review of their application by communicating with NCMHD
staff. A description of the NIH Peer Review Appeal procedures
is available on the NIH home page http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not97-232.html.
Renewals:
After the completion of the initial two-year contract, participants
may apply for a one-year extension contract provided the participant
continues to engage in qualified research and has outstanding
repayable debt remaining. Applications submitted for an extension
are reviewed and selected for funding on a competitive basis.
ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS:
Formula and Matching
Requirements: This program has no statutory
formula or matching requirements.
Length and Time Phasing
of Assistance: An initial contract provides
assistance for a two-year period, and an extension contract provides
for assistance for a one-year period. Program payments will be
made directly to lenders, following each quarter of the participant's
satisfactory service, unless otherwise agreed upon by the participant
and Director, NCMHD.
POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Reports:
Participants must be periodically certified to have satisfactorily
performed the duties of their positions.
Audits:
Not applicable. This program has no statutory audit requirements.
Records:
The NCMHD will retain applicant records for three years after
rejection and participant records for six years after completion
of final service obligation.
FINANCIAL INFORMATION:
Account Identification:
75-0897-0-1-552.
Obligations:
(Grants) FY 01 $1,828,665; FY 02 est $2,036,000; and FY 03 est
$2,900,000.
Range
and Average of Financial Assistance:
The dollar assistance range for the two-year contract period was
from $14,128 to $70,000 in loan repayments, and from $5,510 up
to $27,300 in tax reimbursements in FY 01. The average dollar
assistance of awards made for FY 01 were $46,985 in loan
repayments and $18,324 in tax reimbursements.
For fiscal year 2001,
the first year in which funding was available, the NCMHD received
78 applications and made 28 awards. It is anticipated that the NCMHD
will make 30 awards for fiscal year 2002 and 35 awards for fiscal
year 2003.
REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND
LITERATURE:
Pertinent information
is contained in Public Law 106-525, Section 103; Section 485G of
the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 287c-33(e)).
INFORMATION CONTACTS:
Regional or Local
Office: None.
Headquarters Office:
Program and Business Contact: Kenya D. McRae, National Center
on Minority Health and Health Disparities, Loan Repayment Program,
6707 Democracy Boulevard, Suite 800, MSC 5465, Bethesda, MD 20892-5465.
Telephone Number: (301) 402-1366. Facsimile: (301) 480-4049. Email:
mcraek@od.nih.gov.
Web Site Address: http://ncmhd.nih.gov
EXAMPLES OF FUNDED PROJECTS:
Racial/ethnic differences
in the use of hospice amongst cancer patients; Effect of socioeconomics
on health status; Socioeconomic and racial/ethic disparities in
maternal and infant health; Social and cultural differences in preventive
cardiology care; Colorectal care variation in vulnerable elderly
and colorectal cancer care variation supplement; Breast cancer risk
reduction in African-American women; Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
(SLE); Quality of mental healthcare for American Indian adolescents;
Economic access to antiretroviral prescription drugs; Pathophysiology
of spontaneous pre-term labor and adverse neonatal outcomes; and
Disproportionate impact of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) on minority populations.
CRITERIA FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS:
The major elements in
evaluating applications/proposals include the assessment of the
following: (1) personal statement; (2) proposed research project
and its scientific merit (priority will be given to biomedical and
behavioral researchers); (3) training plan and environment (which
includes the research program, the facilities/environment, the mentor/advisor's
training, the applicant's training); (4) loan debt ratio and any
associated impediments that may affect the applicant's decision
to pursue a research career; and (5) references.
