The Prevention Research Center for Rural Health (PRC-RH) has received notification of our next cycle approval for 2024-2029. As a result, we are eligible to apply for the 2024 Special Interest Projects (SIPs) supplemental funding. It is published as RFA-DP-24-002. It is anticipated that up to 28 awards will be made under this NOFO for the 13 proposals and will start September 30, 2024. These funding opportunities are available only to the Prevention Research Centers in the U.S. The PI role is not limited to PRC Directors but can be any investigator at that institution — therefore, anyone at the University of Iowa may apply and the funds are passed through the University of Iowa Prevention Research Center for Rural Health (PRC-RH).

The purpose of the SIPs is to inform public health practice through high-quality applied health promotion and disease prevention public health research in real-world settings to identify, design, test, assess, evaluate, disseminate, and translate interventions (i.e., programs, practices, policies, or strategies) and tools or resources to prevent and reduce risk for the leading causes of illness, disability, and death in the United States.  There are 13 SIP proposals that are included in this NOFO. Only one application per SIP is allowed from each institution. Six of the SIPs are already being developed by members of the PRC or its affiliated organizations and colleagues. The remaining seven are open for expressions of interest from any faculty member at the UI (even non-PRC-affiliated faculty and faculty in any college). These include:

• Understanding the needs of ovarian cancer survivors (SIP-24-001 Page 42-47);
• Survivorship care plans and mortality among adult cancer survivors SIP-24-002 Page 47-51);
• Gauging men’s reaction to relabeling of GG1 prostate cancer and understanding of pathology reports (SIP-24-004 Page 61-67);
• Understanding the impact of reducing social isolation and loneliness on health indices among cancer survivors (SIP-24-055 Page 67-72);
• Nutrition Obesity Policy Research and Evaluation Network (NOPREN) (SIP 24-006 Page 72-82);
• Physical Activity Policy and Evaluation Research Network (PAPREN) (SIP-24-007 Page 82-91);
• Arthritis Management and Wellbeing Research Network (AMWRN) (SIP-24-009 Page 102-111).

Questions? Please contact Heidi Haines (heidi-haines@uiowa.edu) Center Coordinator of the PRC-RH.

Deadlines to keep in mind:

• Letter of Intent Due Date: (This letter is non-binding. It is not required, but preferred): February 2, 2024
• Proposal Due Date: March 4, 2024
• Informational Webinar: Zoom Details TBD. Thursday, February 1, 2024, 1:30–3:30 PM Eastern time/ 12:30-2:30 PM Central Time.