The National Institutes of Health will provide cash awards of up to $485,000 to encourage community organizations to develop and implement strategies to reduce health disparities among people with disabilities. Organizations participating in the Community Champions of Disability Health Challenge will also receive training and mentoring opportunities. Eunice Kennedy Shriver The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) is leading this challenge.
“People with disabilities often experience preventable health disparities, many of which are caused by systemic factors rather than the disabling condition,” said Theresa Cruz, Ph.D., director of NICHD’s National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research. “This challenge seeks effective, sustainable, and community-led solutions to reduce these disparities and promote health equity for people with disabilities.”
More than 70 million people in the United States have one or more disabilities. People with disabilities are more likely to have chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease than people without disabilities. People with disabilities are also less likely to get preventive care and have less access to exercise equipment and adequate nutrition. They often face barriers to health care, including inaccessible medical facilities and equipment, lack of transportation to appointments, and communication barriers with health care providers.
The two-phase Community Disability Health Challenge seeks creative ideas to promote healthy habits among people with disabilities, increase access to health services and information, and reduce barriers to better health. The challenge is open to non-academic 501(c)(3) organizations in the United States, including advocacy, community, and faith-based organizations. Teams must describe how people with lived experience of disability will be part of their solution.
In Phase I, organizations will submit innovative proposals to reduce health disparities by improving, expanding, diversifying, or amplifying their current programs and services for people with disabilities. The Phase I proposal deadline is November 1, 2024. Up to eight organizations will each receive a $25,000 award and be invited to proceed to Phase II.
Organizations participating in Phase II will have one year to implement their proposals and demonstrate how they can improve their organization’s services and outputs. Halfway through this phase, they will have the opportunity to compete for a provisional award of $7,500 each. Throughout Phase II, they will receive training and mentorship from experts at NIH and the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), part of the Administration for Community Living. NICHD expects to announce up to three grand prize winners in February 2026, each of whom will receive $75,000.
HeroX supported the design, implementation, and management of the challenge on behalf of NIH through multiple NASA contracts. Other funders of the challenge include NIDILRR and the following NIH divisions: National Eye Institute; National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders; National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases; and the Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives within the NIH Office of the Director.
For more information on admission requirements, deadlines and rules, visit https://www.challenge.gov/?challenge=community-disability-health.
For details on how to register and participate, visit https://www.herox.com/CommunityDisabilityHealth. 