Subject: RFA HD-90-11.072090 NIH Guide
From: Dot Baker <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 20 Jul 90 07:45 EST

Good Morning Paul,
   This is the first of two articles coming to you this morning for
posting to the NIH Listserver.   Please post this one as:
    RFAHD-90-11.072090
   Please notify me as soon as these are posted as I will not be
notifying the listserver until they are posted.
   Thanks.  Have a nice weekend.
                                Dottie
 ---------------------------- Text of forwarded message -----------------------
     
PROXY MEASURES FOR SERIOUS CHILDHOOD INJURIES
     
RFA:  HD-90-11
     
P.T. 34; K.W. 0715027, 0770005, 0413001, 0404000, 0775000
     
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
     
Letter of Intent Receipt Date:  October 31, 1990
Application Receipt Date: November 30,1990
     
I.  BACKGROUND INFORMATION
     
The Human Learning and Behavior Branch (HLB) of the Center
for Research for Mothers and Children (CRMC), National
Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD),
supports research in behavioral pediatrics, which focuses on
applying principles of human learning and development to
health and illness behaviors of children.  A part of this
research effort seeks to determine the role of behavior at
various levels in the etiology of childhood injuries and to
develop effective interventions based on principles
governing human behavior to enhance the prevention of
unintentional injuries to children.  In 1987, NICHD
developed a five-year research initiative to improve
approaches to prevention of childhood injury.  This
initiative, based on recommendations by a panel of experts
in behavioral science and injury research, includes the
development of specific methodologies important for
advancement of this field.  As part of this program of
research toward prevention of childhood injury, this Request
for Applications (RFA)
invites scientists to submit grant applications for research
concerned with one aspect of methods needed for research,
the development of proxy measures for serious injuries.
     
In the United States, injuries are the leading cause of
death and disability among children and young adults.  They
account for about half of all deaths in children under 15
years and almost 80 percent of deaths in the 15 to 24 year
age group.  In children, as in adults, motor vehicles
crashes are the leading cause of injury-related deaths,
followed by fires/burns, drowning, choking on food/objects
(for children 1-4 years), firearms (for ages 5-14 years) and
falls.  Injuries incapacitate about two million children for
two weeks or longer, and at least 100,000 children suffer
permanent disabilities each year.  Clearly, injury is one of
the most important challenges facing the health and
scientific community in reducing mortality and suffering in
childhood.
     
Until recently, the majority of research on childhood injury
has been extremely limited and focused primarily on
descriptive epidemiology.  With increasing recognition of
the magnitude of the threat of injuries to children, injury
prevention research has begun to receive greater emphasis
and support.  In 1986, NICHD held a workshop on Approaches
to Research in Childhood Injury to formulate questions for
research, identify key methodologies needing development,
and stimulate investigation in this area.  The
proceedings of this workshop were published in the American
Journal of Diseases of Children, Vol. 142, June 1988, and
formed the basis for development of the five-year initiative
of research toward prevention of childhood injuries.  One
recommendation of the workshop and a component of the
research initiative is addressed by the Objective and Scope
of this RFA.
     
II.  OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE
     
The prevention of death and/or disability from injury is of
highest priority.  Though unintentional injury is the most
frequent cause of mortality for children and youth over one
year of age, death due to unintentional injury is,
fortunately, still a relatively uncommon event.  It has been
estimated that to collect prospective information on 100
children with injuries severe enough to result in
hospitalization requires collection of data on about 12,000
children for five years.  Studies aimed at development and
evaluation of intervention strategies are complicated by the
large samples required and by the necessity to depend on
these tragic events as outcome measures.  Therefore, it is
highly desirable to develop the capability to conduct
research regarding development and evaluation of
interventions for serious injuries without depending on the
actual occurrence of these injuries.  Such measures used in
lieu of fatal or handicapping injuries are considered proxy
measures for serious injuries.
     
This RFA invites scientists to submit grant applications for
research to develop measures which are proxy or substitutes
for serious, potentially fatal, or handicapping injuries in
children and youth.  The exact nature of such measures or
groups of measures is currently undetermined and open ended.
They must be observable and measurable.  They may consist of
sets of sociodemographic, behavioral, physiological, or even
genetic variables or combinations of such variables.  They
could comprise a set of variables which describes the
process for serious injury as a model and as distinct from
that for minor injuries.  The relationship of the occurrence
of serious injuries to minor injuries is a central issue for
this research.  Are individuals who experience serious
injury distinguishable or indistinguishable from the much
larger population of individuals with minor injuries?
     
The major injuries experienced by children vary by age,
location, and other factors.  Therefore, no one measure or
set of measures is likely to predict all injuries of
children.  However, this research must focus on at least one
major type or cause of injury for at least one age group and
should apply or generalize to more than one injury or age
group.
     
It is anticipated that the development and validation of
such measures may require the use of large populations or
data bases with sufficient information regarding childhood
injuries.  Examples of such existing data bases include
national vital statistics, nationally representative surveys
like the NCHS Child Health Survey, or large trauma
registries.  However, development of proxy measures for
serious injury would also require longitudinal follow-up and
additional information than is currently available with
cross-sectional samples.  Furthermore, creative linkages
between existing data bases may also prove useful.
     
The product of this research should be a measure or set of
measures which would predict the probability of serious
injury with greater accuracy than any other currently
existing measure.  The proxy measure(s) must also be
sufficiently accurate so that with evaluation of
interventions, changes in the measure will reflect changes
in the actual rates of serious injury with sufficient power
to be used for this purpose.  As an example from another
area, if one is interested in adolescent sexual activity as
a difficult to measure unobservable target behavior,
associated factors which predict this behavior might be
proximity to sexually active peers, length of dating
relationship with someone of the opposite sex,  or frequency
of calls or contact with the opposite sex.  Suggested
examples of possible proxy measures for serious injury
include:  minor injuries (if strong correlation with serious
injuries is demonstrated), safety or injury related
behavior, or a set of demographic and/or other descriptive
variables which highly predict the probability of injury.
     
III.  MECHANISM OF SUPPORT
     
The support mechanisms for this program will be the
individual research project grant (RO1).  This solicitation
is included in the plans for Fiscal Year 1991.  It is
anticipated that two grants will be awarded, depending on
the overall merit of the applications and final availability
of funds.
     
Applicants will furnish estimates of the time which will be
required to conduct the proposed research.  Ordinarily,
grants are supported from one to a maximum of five years.
The current policies and requirements that govern the
research grant programs of NIH will prevail.
     
IV.  REVIEW PROCEDURES AND CRITERIA
     
Applications will be reviewed by NICHD staff for
responsiveness to the RFA.  Non-responsive applications will
be returned to the applicant.  The applicant then has the
option to resubmit to NIH and have it assigned for review in
the same manner as unsolicited grant applications during the
next review cycle.
If the application submitted in response to this RFA is
substantially similar to a research grant application already
submitted to the NIH for review, but has not yet been reviewed,
the applicant will be asked to withdraw either the pending
application or the new one.  Simultaneous submission of
identical applications will not be allowed, nor will essentially
identical applications be reviewed by different review committees.
Therefore, an application cannot be submitted in response to this
RFA which is essentially identical to one that has already been
reviewed.  This does not preclude the submission of substantial
revisions of applications already reviewed, but such applications
must include an introduction addressing the previous critique.
     
Responsive applications may be subjected to triage by a
peer-review group to determine their scientific merit
relative to the other applications received in response to
this RFA.  PHS will withdraw from competition those
applications judged to be noncompetitive and notify the
applicant and institutional business official.  Those
applications judged to be competitive will be further
evaluated for scientific/technical merit by a review panel
convened solely for this purpose by the Scientific Review
Program, NICHD.  The factors to be used in evaluating the
scientific merit of each application will be those used in
judging individual research project grant applications,
including originality of the proposed research and
feasibility of approach; quality of theoretical-conceptual
framework; adequacy of research design; appropriateness of
data analysis techniques; suitability of facilities;
training, experience, and research competence of
investigators; and soundness of proposed budget.
     
The PHS urges applicants for grants to give added attention
(where feasible and appropriate) to the inclusion of
minorities and females in study populations for research in the
behavioral and social sciences.  If minorities and females are not
included in a given study, a clear rationale for their
exclusion should be provided.  Investigators are reminded
that merely including arbitrary numbers of minority group and females
participants in a given study is insufficient to guarantee
generalization of results.
     
V.  APPLICATION PROCEDURE
     
Potential applicants are invited to send a letter of intent
that includes a brief descriptive title, the name of the
principal investigator(s), and other participating
institutions, to Dr. Peter
C. Scheidt at the address listed at the end of the RFA.  A
letter of intent is neither binding nor required as a pre-
condition of applying for an NIH award; however, it could be
helpful to establish contact with appropriate NICHD staff
and would facilitate organization of the special initial
review group for applications received in response to the
announcement.
     
Applications should be submitted on Form PHS-398 (rev. 10/88) which is
available in the business or grants and contracts office at
most academic and research institutions or from the Division
of Research Grants, NIH.  Applications prepared in response
to this RFA should be received by November 30, 1990.
     
The RFA label available in the 10/88 revision of
Application Form 398 must be affixed to the bottom of the
face page.  Failure to use this label could result in
delayed processing of the application such that it may not
reach the review committee in time for review.
     
The phrase "PREPARED IN RESPONSE TO RFA HD-90-11:  Proxy
Measures for Serious Childhood Injuries,"  should be typed
on line two of the application face page.
The original and four copies of the application
should be sent or delivered to:
     
Application Receipt Office
Division of Research Grants
National Institutes of Health
Westwood Building, Room 240
Bethesda, MD  20892**
     
In addition,
two copies of the application
must be sent under separate cover to:
     
Laurance Johnston, Ph.D.
Scientific Review Program
National Institute of Child Health
  and Human Development,  NIH
Room 520A, Executive Plaza North
Rockville, MD  20892
     
Applications must be received by November 30, 1990.  Those
received after this date will not be accepted.
     
Letter of intent                    October 31, 1990
Application receipt date            November 30,1990
Initial review                         February 1991
Review by National Advisory Child
  Health and Human Development Council      May 1991
Anticipated award date                     July 1991
     
Inquiries regarding this announcement and letters of intent
should be directed to:
     
Peter C. Scheidt, M.D., M.P.H.
Human Learning and Behavior Branch
National Institute of Child Health and Human
Development
EPN, Room 633
9000 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD  20892
Telephone:  (301) 496-6591
     
This program is described in the catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance No. 13,865, Research for Mothers and Children.
Awards will be made under the authority of the Public Health
Service Act, Section 301 (42 USC241), and administered under
and 45 CFR Part 74.  This program is not subject to review
by a Health Systems Agency.