Transdisciplinary Collaborative Centers for Health Disparities Research on Multilevel Chronic Disease Prevention

Program Description

The NIMHD Transdisciplinary Collaborative Centers (TCCs) support health disparities research focused on chronic disease prevention, with an emphasis on developing, implementing, and disseminating community-based multilevel interventions.

Chronic diseases and conditions are among the most common, costly, and preventable of all health problems. Chronic diseases/conditions that disproportionately affect populations experiencing health disparities include but are not limited to diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, kidney disease, HIV/AIDS, asthma, depression and other mental illnesses, substance abuse, and addiction disorders.

Addressing these health disparities requires a transdisciplinary framework that cuts across organizational silos and fosters an integrated approach across multiple disciplines: biology, behavioral and social sciences, environmental science, public health, health care, economics, public policy, and many other disciplines. It also requires strong collaborations between researchers and community organizations, service providers and systems, government agencies, and other stakeholders to ensure that contextually appropriate and relevant research is conducted and that findings can translate into sustainable individual-, community-, and systems-level changes that improve population health. TCC projects are expected to be regional in scope, population based, and placed in the context of regional or national efforts to promote health equity.

Research topics of specific interest include but are not limited to the following:

Promote prevention research and related activities aimed at initiating and implementing multilevel interventions (individual, family/team/group, community, or higher levels) in community settings
Build strong collaborations between researchers, community organizations, health service providers, public health agencies, policymakers and other stakeholders for chronic disease prevention
Formulate novel and applicable theoretical framework, study design, data analysis plan, and assessment of community-based multilevel interventions
Identify, develop effective methods, systems, infrastructures, and strategies to disseminate research findings and to overcome barriers to the adoption, adaptation, integration of evidence-based multilevel interventions

Each TCC award supports an Administrative Core, Consortium Core, Methodology Core, Intervention Projects, and Dissemination Core.

Administrative Cores manage and coordinate the implementation of TCC activities, including project evaluation and ensure that component plans are implemented according to proposed timelines;
Consortium Cores serve as a focal point for organizing and facilitating productive working relationships with consortium partners, including community stakeholders and administer pilot project programs that seed emerging research areas, explore new methodologies or approaches, conduct demonstration projects and generate preliminary data to support development of independently funded projects;
Methodology Cores formulate appropriate theoretical framework, study design, data analysis plan, and assessment of community-based multilevel interventions.
Intervention Projects promote prevention research and related activities aimed at initiating and implementing multilevel interventions in community settings, working in close collaboration with community partners, health service providers, public health agencies, policymakers and other consortium partners as appropriate.
Dissemination Cores identify, develop effective methods, systems, infrastructures, and strategies to disseminate research findings and to overcome barriers to the adoption, adaptation, and integration of evidence-based multilevel interventions.

NIH Guide No.: RFA-MD-15-014

See current NIMHD-funded TCC grants on NIH RePORTER.

Page updated Jan. 12, 2024