Addressing Caregiver Symptoms through Technological Tools (R21 Clinical Trial Optional) | PA 19 024

Opportunity Information: Apply for PA 19 024

Addressing Caregiver Symptoms through Technological Tools (R21 Clinical Trial Optional) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity (PA-19-024) that supports early-stage, exploratory research aimed at creating and testing technology-based tools that directly target symptoms experienced by caregivers. The central point of the announcement is that the caregiver is the patient of interest for the research question, meaning proposals should focus on identifying, measuring, and reducing caregiver symptoms regardless of the care recipient's diagnosis, disease severity, or symptom profile. In practice, this prioritizes projects that treat caregiver well-being as a primary outcome rather than a secondary effect of patient-focused care.

The opportunity emphasizes the need for better ways to recognize and assess caregiver symptoms, along with practical technological strategies to reduce distress. This can include building or adapting digital tools that help caregivers detect early signs of strain, track symptom patterns over time, and receive timely support. The announcement also points to the broader science gaps it wants to address: improving what is known about which symptoms caregivers experience (for example, stress, anxiety, depression, sleep disturbance, fatigue, burden, or other forms of psychological and physical distress), understanding which caregiving contexts and circumstances make those symptoms more likely or more severe, and determining what types of tools are feasible, acceptable, and effective for caregivers in real-world settings. Because the mechanism is an R21, the intent is typically to fund innovative, proof-of-concept work, pilot testing, and early evaluation that can later justify larger definitive studies.

The funding instrument is a grant, categorized under education and health, with CFDA number 93.361. The listed award ceiling is $200,000, signaling that projects should be appropriately scoped for a small, developmental research award. The FOA is labeled "Clinical Trial Optional," which means applicants may propose studies that do or do not meet the NIH definition of a clinical trial, depending on the design and whether participants are prospectively assigned to an intervention to evaluate health-related outcomes. That flexibility can accommodate a range of studies, from usability and feasibility work to small randomized pilots, depending on what is necessary to test the caregiver-focused technology and outcomes.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S. organizations and institutions, such as 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; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (outside higher education); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses) as well as small businesses; and other applicant types. The announcement also explicitly welcomes additional eligible applicants 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, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, and even non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities/foreign organizations. This wide eligibility reflects the expectation that caregiver support tools may be developed and tested across diverse communities, service settings, and research environments.

Key administrative details include an original closing date of 2022-01-07 and a creation date of 2018-10-12. Overall, the program is designed to stimulate innovative, caregiver-centered technology research that improves detection and assessment of caregiver symptoms and develops realistic tools to reduce symptom distress, strengthening the evidence base for how to support caregivers in varied caregiving situations.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Addressing Caregiver Symptoms through Technological Tools (R21 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.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-10-12.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-01-07. (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 $200,000.00 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.

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