Research on Informal and Formal Caregiving for Alzheimer's Disease (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR 18 027

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 18 027

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant opportunity "Research on Informal and Formal Caregiving for Alzheimer's Disease (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)" (Funding Opportunity Number PAR-18-027) supports basic and translational research focused on caregiving for people living with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The program is centered on understanding and improving caregiving at multiple levels, including the individual caregiver and care recipient, the family unit, community systems, and broader population-level impacts. While the FOA is framed around caregiving, its underlying goal is twofold: reduce caregiver burden and improve outcomes for people with AD across real-world settings where care happens.

A major emphasis of the announcement is building a clearer, more complete picture of what caregiving looks like across the entire course of Alzheimer's disease. This includes studying both informal caregiving (typically unpaid care provided by family members, friends, or neighbors) and formal caregiving (paid care provided through home health, long-term care, clinical services, or professional aides). The FOA encourages projects that characterize how caregiving demands change as AD progresses, what types of tasks and responsibilities are involved, and how these demands translate into burden, stress, health impacts, and financial strain for caregivers. It also signals interest in research that links caregiving conditions and supports to measurable patient outcomes, such as safety, quality of life, symptom management, health service use, and continuity of care.

Another core priority is population- and community-based research that examines the scope and impact of Alzheimer's caregiving. That can include estimating the prevalence and intensity of caregiving needs in different communities, identifying gaps in services, understanding how local systems (healthcare access, social services, transportation, housing, workforce availability) shape caregiving experiences, and evaluating interventions that could be implemented at scale. The announcement also makes it clear that NIH is looking for research that can be translated into practical strategies, programs, or service models that work in diverse settings, not only in specialized academic medical centers.

The FOA specifically highlights the importance of studying differences in caregiving burden across socioeconomic, racial and ethnic, and geographic sub-populations. In practice, this means applicants are encouraged to investigate how caregiving challenges and resources vary for different groups and why those differences exist. It also creates space for research on structural factors that shape caregiving, such as income and employment constraints, language access, immigration-related barriers, rural versus urban service availability, cultural expectations around family care, and the historical and systemic drivers of disparities. The intent is not only to document inequities, but to produce evidence that can help reduce them through better-designed supports and interventions.

A related emphasis is research addressing the unique challenges of advanced Alzheimer's care. Later-stage AD can involve complex medical and behavioral symptoms, higher levels of dependence, increased safety risks, and more intensive coordination across settings such as hospitals, nursing facilities, assisted living, and home-based care. The FOA encourages research that examines these realities, including how caregivers navigate decision-making, crisis events, palliative and end-of-life needs, and transitions between care settings. It also explicitly calls out disparities in access to advanced care, signaling interest in studies that identify barriers and test solutions that improve equitable access to high-quality services for people with advanced AD and their caregivers.

This opportunity uses the NIH R01 mechanism, which is typically intended for substantial, well-developed research projects. The activity category is listed under Education and Health, and the CFDA numbers associated with the opportunity are 93.361 and 93.866. The FOA is labeled "Clinical Trial Optional," meaning applicants may propose studies that include clinical trials, but a clinical trial is not required; both observational and intervention research approaches may fit, as long as they align with the caregiving focus and NIH requirements for the chosen design. The funding instrument type is a grant, and the opportunity category is discretionary.

Eligibility is broad across U.S.-based organizations and government entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city or township governments; 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; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; and Native American tribal organizations other than federally recognized tribal governments. The FOA also allows nonprofit organizations (both those with 501(c)(3) status and those without, as long as they are not institutions of higher education), for-profit organizations other than small businesses, small businesses, and other eligible organizations. In addition, the FOA explicitly notes eligibility for organizations such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, and U.S. territories or possessions.

Restrictions are also clearly stated: non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities are not eligible to apply, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible. The FOA further states that foreign components, as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are not allowed. In other words, the research must be fully domestic in terms of applicant organization and project components.

Administrative details in the source listing include an original closing date of January 7, 2019, and a creation date of November 6, 2017. The award ceiling and expected number of awards are not specified in the provided source data, which often means budgets and award counts are determined based on NIH institute priorities, application quality, and available appropriations for the relevant funding year.

Overall, this FOA is designed for research teams that want to generate actionable evidence on how Alzheimer's caregiving works in real life, how it affects caregivers and patients over time, where the biggest pressure points and inequities are, and what interventions or system changes can meaningfully reduce burden and improve outcomes, especially for underserved groups and those dealing with advanced-stage disease.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Research on Informal and Formal Caregiving for Alzheimer's Disease (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.361, 93.866.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-11-06.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-01-07. (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.

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