Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS): Population, Clinical, and Applied Prevention Research (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)

NIMHD supports research on electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) to examine population-based, clinical, and applied prevention of disease, including etiology of use, epidemiology of use, potential risks, benefits, and impacts on other tobacco use behaviors among different populations.

ENDS are battery-powered inhalation devices designed to deliver to the user an aerosol typically containing nicotine. Since their introduction into the United States nearly a decade ago, the prevalence of ENDS use has increased rapidly. There is limited data available on the impact of various patterns of ENDS use and exposure to ENDS aerosol on biological, physiological, and behavioral health outcomes.

NIMHD seeks to support population, clinical, and applied research projects to understand mechanisms and health determinants that influence the use of ENDS and the potential risks and benefits for minority or other populations experiencing health disparities: African Americans/Blacks, Hispanics/Latinos, American Indians/Alaska Natives, Asians, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders, socioeconomically disadvantaged populations, underserved rural populations, and/or sexual and gender minority populations.

Successful projects will examine use of ENDS and/or associated health risks of ENDS through a socioecological framework considering determinants of health from more than one domain of influence ( e.g., behavioral, physical/built environment, or health care system) and/or level of influence (e.g. individual or societal) (see NIMHD Research Framework).

NIMHD is interested in studies that also include the following:

• Understanding the role of culture, community, and social factors on the reasons for use of ENDS, trajectories of use, and switching between ENDS and combustible cigarettes
• Understanding the role of protective and resilience factors for the use of ENDS
• Understanding how geographic and regional differences in combination with socioeconomic and behavioral risk factors influence use of ENDS
• Understanding the role of ENDS in promoting cessation from combustible
  tobacco use

NIH Guide No.: PAR-18-847

Page updated July 1, 2021