Addressing Suicide Research Gaps: Understanding Mortality Outcomes (R01) | RFA MH 18 410

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA MH 18 410

Addressing Suicide Research Gaps: Understanding Mortality Outcomes (R01) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grant opportunity designed to close a very specific and persistent problem in suicide prevention research: many healthcare systems can document suicide-related clinical events (such as suicide attempts, self-harm encounters, psychiatric crises, emergency department visits, or other indicators recorded in structured medical records), but those records are often not reliably linked to death records. Without that linkage, it is difficult to know which clinical warning signs and patterns actually precede suicide death, how frequently suicide occurs among patients already engaged with healthcare, and what the true mortality burden looks like for people seen in real-world care settings. This FOA supports projects that connect relevant healthcare system data with mortality data so researchers can better identify risk factors, clarify outcomes, and generate more accurate estimates of suicide mortality among people who have had contact with healthcare.

A central goal of the announcement is to improve understanding of the type, severity, and timing of suicide predictors in the United States. In practice, that means studies are expected to look beyond whether a risk factor exists at all and instead examine how it appears in clinical data, how intense or severe it is (for example, distinguishing ideation from attempts, or characterizing injury severity and clinical acuity), and how close in time it occurs relative to death. By building datasets that connect clinical trajectories to mortality outcomes, these projects can help reveal which patterns in routine healthcare data are most predictive, when risk is highest, and which patient subgroups carry disproportionate mortality risk. The emphasis on structured healthcare settings also reflects the reality that many individuals who die by suicide have interacted with healthcare in the months or year prior to death, making these settings important places for detection and prevention.

Beyond advancing scientific knowledge, the FOA highlights a practical, system-level payoff: linked healthcare and mortality datasets can produce benchmarks that health systems, payers, and insurers can use to measure performance and improvement. As suicide prevention becomes more embedded in quality improvement, population health management, and accountability frameworks, both public and private organizations increasingly need credible metrics for outcomes, rates, and risk-adjusted comparisons. The expectation is that better data infrastructure and better evidence about predictors and timing will support more effective prevention strategies and help systems track whether interventions are actually reducing suicide events and suicide deaths among the populations they serve.

The opportunity is issued as an R01 research project grant under the NIH, with the funding opportunity number RFA-MH-18-410. It is categorized as a discretionary grant in the education and health activity areas, and it references CFDA numbers 93.242, 93.279, and 93.307. The original posting indicates an award ceiling of $300,000, and the original closing date listed is 2017-11-02, with a creation date of 2017-05-26. The FOA also explicitly notes that funded projects will help address gaps identified in the 2014 Prioritized Research Agenda for Suicide Prevention, signaling that the work is meant to be responsive to nationally identified research needs rather than isolated, one-off data exercises.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of domestic organizations and governmental entities. Eligible applicants 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; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; and Native American tribal organizations that are not federally recognized tribal governments. It also includes public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, nonprofit organizations (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3), excluding institutions of higher education where specified), for-profit organizations other than small businesses, and small businesses, with an "others" category that captures additional eligible applicants. The FOA further calls out specific groups as other eligible applicants, including 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, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, tribal governments other than federally recognized ones, and even non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities or foreign organizations. This wide eligibility reflects the reality that valuable healthcare and mortality data linkages may be housed in many different kinds of institutions and jurisdictions, and that suicide prevention research benefits from participation across diverse communities and health systems.

Overall, the FOA is best understood as an effort to strengthen the evidence base by building and analyzing linked datasets that combine healthcare encounter information with death outcomes. The intent is not just to count events, but to pinpoint clinically relevant predictors, understand how risk unfolds over time, and produce actionable knowledge that can guide prevention efforts and allow health systems and insurers to track measurable progress in reducing suicide-related mortality.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Addressing Suicide Research Gaps: Understanding Mortality Outcomes (R01)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.242, 93.279, 93.307.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-05-26.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2017-11-02. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $300,000.00 in funding.
• 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.

Apply for RFA MH 18 410

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: