Maternal and Child Health Bureau: Advancing Physical Health Interventions for Children with Autism and Developmental Disabilities

As authorized by Section 399BB of the Autism CARES Act, the AIR-P Network will determine the evidence-based practices for interventions to improve the physical health of individuals with ASD and other developmental disabilities, develop guidelines for those interventions, and disseminate information related to such research and guidelines.  The AIR-P Network will be one of two HRSA-supported research networks that will provide national leadership in research to advance the evidence base on effective interventions for children and adolescents with ASD and other developmental disabilities, with AIR-P having a focus on addressing physical health and wellbeing.  

As directed by the FY 2015 Congressional Appropriations for HRSA’s Autism CARES Act programs, HRSA is broadening the scope of this funding opportunity to reflect an additional emphasis on addressing disparities in effective interventions and treatment and access to care experienced by underserved minority and rural communities.  In particular, applicants should consider diverse ethnic/racial, cultural, linguistic, socioeconomic, and geographic (e.g., rural/urban, tribal) populations for whom there is little evidence regarding the effectiveness of interventions, or for whom access to effective treatments is limited.  Applicants should include plans to conduct multi-site research protocols on innovative treatment models, including the use of telehealth networks, to improve physical health interventions and treatment for ASD in underserved minority and rural communities.

It is expected that the AIR-P Network will collaborate with a program serving vulnerable and underserved populations.  Such collaboration will enable the Network to recruit and include these populations including minority and rural communities into Network studies.  Such collaboration should also include the participation of an interdisciplinary cadre of researchers, health and related service providers, and community partners in diverse settings to broaden the scope of the Network.  This FOA requires that 50% of AIR-P Network studies exclusively recruit from vulnerable and underserved populations, such as HRSA-supported program populations (e.g., Health Center Program; Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program). 

The Maternal and Child Health Bureau’s intent is to ensure that research activities are responsive to the cultural and linguistic needs of special populations, that services are family-centered and accessible to consumers, and that the broadest possible representation of culturally distinct and historically underrepresented groups is supported through programs and projects sponsored by the MCHB.

The AIR-P Network will use an interdisciplinary team with experience in, but not limited to: multi-site research, RCTs, clinical services, family-centered care, and with expertise in the study of physical health of children and adolescents with ASD and other developmental disabilities to:

·         Design and implement multi-site research to determine evidence-based practices for interventions that improve the physical health of children and adolescents with ASD and other developmental disabilities;

·         Design and implement multi-site research protocols to examine and address disparities in  physical health interventions and treatment and access to care for children and adolescents with ASD, including innovative models to serve vulnerable and underserved minority and rural communities;

·         Recruit study participants from diverse backgrounds including racial/ethnic, geographic, and socioeconomic diversity through partnership with a program serving vulnerable and underserved populations, such as the Health Center Program or the MIECHV Program;   

·         Develop and/or update guidelines and validate tools for those interventions developed by the Network;

·         Provide a research environment that supports the professional development and mentorship of emerging or new investigators  in the field of intervention research for ASD and other developmental disabilities;

·         Disseminate information on Network activities including research, guidelines, and validated tools to the research community, health care professionals and service providers, communities, families of children and adolescents with ASD and other developmental disabilities and the public;

·         Develop and institute a plan to ensure dissemination of Network findings beyond peer-reviewed publications to accelerate the adoption of effective interventions, guidelines, tools, and systems management approaches into practice settings and communities;

·         Leverage network capacity to compete for grant opportunities from other Federal and private sources to support and implement network research protocols.