Improving Choice, Use, and Equitable Implementation of Biomedical HIV Prevention for Women (R34 Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA MH 24 332

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA MH 24 332

This NIH funding opportunity (RFA-MH-24-332) supports planning-stage research projects aimed at improving how women can access, choose, and successfully use biomedical HIV prevention options, with a strong emphasis on the vaginal ring in real-world settings. The main purpose is to close practical knowledge gaps about why the ring is or is not adopted, what helps women use it consistently over time, and how health systems and community delivery models can make ring access more feasible, acceptable, and equitable. The mechanism is an R34 (Clinical Trial Optional), which typically aligns with early-stage or pilot work designed to refine interventions, establish feasibility, and generate the evidence needed for larger effectiveness or implementation trials later.

The opportunity is centered on understanding and addressing barriers and facilitators to vaginal ring uptake, adherence, and persistence outside of tightly controlled research environments. In other words, it is looking for research that reflects real life: routine clinical care, community-based service settings, and the everyday constraints that shape prevention decisions. Projects can examine influences at multiple levels, including individual factors (knowledge, attitudes, risk perception, side effects, comfort, stigma, preferences), interpersonal factors (partner dynamics, disclosure concerns, social support, peer norms), and structural factors (clinic workflows, cost and coverage, transportation, privacy, provider bias, supply chain issues, policy constraints, and broader social determinants). A key theme is that prevention tools do not work on their own; successful prevention depends on whether people can realistically start and keep using them within their lived circumstances.

A major category of supported work involves developing and testing behavioral or support interventions that improve uptake and sustained use of the ring. This can include counseling approaches, peer navigation, partner-inclusive strategies when appropriate and safe, reminder and support systems, interventions that reduce stigma or misinformation, and approaches that address common reasons for discontinuation. The goal is not just initial adoption, but consistent use and persistence over time, recognizing that prevention needs and preferences can change and that ongoing support may be necessary to keep protection aligned with someone’s life and relationships.

Another major focus is implementation science, meaning studies that look at how to deliver the vaginal ring effectively through health services and community programs. These projects might identify what helps or prevents successful delivery (for example, staffing and training needs, provider readiness, integration into sexual and reproductive health services, youth-friendly care, confidentiality protections, and culturally responsive delivery). They may also test strategies to optimize delivery, such as different service models, distribution channels, clinic-community partnerships, or methods to improve reach among women who face the greatest barriers to prevention access. Equity is central here: the work is intended to help ensure that ring delivery does not disproportionately benefit only those already well served by healthcare systems.

In terms of logistics, this is a discretionary grant opportunity offered by the National Institutes of Health, with an original closing date of November 22, 2023, and an award ceiling listed at $450,000. The CFDA numbers associated with the opportunity are 93.242, 93.310, and 93.313. While the posting does not specify an expected number of awards in the provided text, it clearly signals support for a range of applicant types and settings, including domestic and certain non-domestic organizations.

Eligibility is broad and includes many public and private entities: 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; for-profit organizations (other than small businesses) and small businesses. It also explicitly encourages participation from a wide range of institutions and organizations that often play key roles in equitable health research and service delivery, including Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISI), 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 non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations).

Overall, the grant is designed to move beyond efficacy questions and toward the practical, on-the-ground realities of HIV prevention for women. It prioritizes research that explains what drives real-world ring use, develops supports that help women start and continue using the ring if they choose it, and builds evidence on how to implement ring delivery in ways that are scalable, sustainable, and equitable across diverse communities.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Improving Choice, Use, and Equitable Implementation of Biomedical HIV Prevention for Women (R34 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.242, 93.310, 93.313.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-09-20.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-11-22. (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 $450,000.00 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 24 332

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