Director’s Message
May 14, 2024
NIH Improves Reporting of Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Categories
NIH has a longstanding commitment to supporting health disparities research, minority health research, workforce development and outreach, and capacity building. It is with this commitment that I am pleased to share recent changes to NIH’s reporting of minority health and health disparities research as part of the NIH Research, Condition, and Disease Categorization (RCDC) reporting system. These updates will improve the accuracy and transparency of minority health and health disparities research investments and better track progress towards the goals of the NIH Minority Health and Health Disparities Strategic Plan. Leading this effort is a major responsibility of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) and this change to the RCDC reporting methodology will facilitate that effort.
RCDC was launched in 2009 to provide estimates of total NIH funding for more than 315 categories of diseases, conditions, or research areas. It is common for NIH to add new categories and update existing categories in RCDC regularly. This year, NIH has converted two categories, Minority Health and Health Disparities, into five new categories to better distinguish research funding from workforce development and capacity building funding. This means the first three categories below only reflect the projects focused on science. Additionally, research projects that have a diverse sample of participants but do not specifically address a health disparities or minority health research question are no longer included. The new categories are:
- Health Disparities Research
- Racial and Ethnic Minority Health Research
- Health Disparities and Racial or Ethnic Minority Health Research
- Workforce Diversity and Outreach
- Building Research Capacity at Institutions with Limited NIH Funding
These new categories will be used beginning with Fiscal Year 2023 funding and moving forward. It is important to note that actual funding numbers and NIH priorities have not changed. The reporting methodology has simply been revised to facilitate a harmonized approach to data collection and reporting for these critical research areas.
As the lead institute at NIH on policy, planning, and monitoring of minority health and health disparities research, NIMHD oversees numerous programs to increase the scientific knowledge base and design of interventions to improve minority health and reduce health disparities. We believe that enhancing NIH’s reporting methodology is one additional step towards better understanding our progress towards ultimately advancing health equity across all communities.
Best regards,
Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable, M.D.
Director, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities
Page updated May 20, 2024 | created May 14, 2024
