Palliative Care Needs of Individuals with Advanced Rare Diseases and Their Family Caregivers (R01) | PA 17 018

Opportunity Information: Apply for PA 17 018

The grant opportunity titled "Palliative Care Needs of Individuals with Advanced Rare Diseases and Their Family Caregivers (R01)" (Funding Opportunity Number PA-17-018) is a discretionary National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grant designed to build stronger, more practical evidence for palliative care in the context of advanced rare diseases, including rare cancers. The central aim is to expand what is known about how palliative care can better address the real-world needs of seriously ill people living with rare conditions and, just as importantly, the family members and other unpaid caregivers who often shoulder day-to-day support. The FOA emphasizes improving both physical well-being (such as symptom control, comfort, functional status, and other clinical outcomes) and psychosocial well-being (such as stress, anxiety, depression, coping, communication, social support, and caregiver burden), with an overarching focus on quality of life for patients and caregivers.

This announcement uses the NIH R01 mechanism, which generally supports investigator-initiated, hypothesis-driven research projects that can make a substantial contribution to an evidence base. In practical terms, the FOA is oriented toward studies that can identify palliative care needs in advanced rare diseases, test interventions or care models that address those needs, and generate findings that are rigorous enough to inform clinical practice, future research, and potentially policy or health system implementation. Because rare diseases often involve small, dispersed patient populations, complex trajectories, limited disease-specific treatment options, and major uncertainty for families, the intent is to encourage research that is sensitive to these realities and that produces actionable knowledge for improving care and support.

Eligible applicants are broad and include a wide range of public, private, nonprofit, and governmental organizations. Eligible entities 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; Native American tribal governments (federally recognized); tribal organizations that are not federally recognized tribal governments; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education when specified in those categories); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The FOA also explicitly notes additional eligible applicant types, reflecting an interest in inclusive participation and broader reach: Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible agencies of the federal government, regional organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, and non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign organizations). This wide eligibility is meant to support diverse research settings and populations, including underserved communities and cross-border collaborations when appropriate.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity is categorized under Education and Health activities and is associated with CFDA numbers 93.361, 93.393, 93.395, and 93.399. The posting indicates it was created on 2016-10-18 and lists an original closing date of 2018-01-24. Some fields such as award ceiling and expected awards are not specified in the provided excerpt, which typically means applicants would need to refer to the full NIH announcement and related institute/center guidance for budget expectations, project period norms, and any institute-specific constraints.

Overall, the FOA is best understood as an NIH effort to push palliative care research further into the rare disease space, where evidence gaps are common and where both patients and families can experience high symptom burden, complex decision-making, and significant emotional and practical strain. The emphasis on both patient and caregiver outcomes signals that competitive projects would likely need to address the caregiving context, not just the patient experience, and to produce findings that help the field deliver more effective, compassionate, and measurable improvements in quality of life for those facing advanced rare illnesses.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Palliative Care Needs of Individuals with Advanced Rare Diseases and Their Family Caregivers (R01)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.361, 93.393, 93.395, 93.399.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2016-10-18.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2018-01-24. (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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