Model Continuums of Care Initiative (MCCI) to Advance Health Equity and End Health Disparities Among Women and Girls in Racial/Ethnic Minority and Other Underserved Communities (U34 Clinical Trials Required) | RFA AA 24 006

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA AA 24 006

The Model Continuums of Care Initiative (MCCI) to Advance Health Equity and End Health Disparities Among Women and Girls in Racial/Ethnic Minority and Other Underserved Communities is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity (RFA-AA-24-006) that supports a planning phase award using the U34 cooperative agreement mechanism, with clinical trials required. The focus is on building the groundwork for a larger, multi-Institute/Center/Office (multi-ICO) dissemination and implementation (D and I) science effort aimed at advancing health equity and reducing persistent health disparities affecting racial and ethnic minority women and girls of reproductive age. In practical terms, this opportunity is about designing and preparing real-world, scalable care approaches that can be implemented in health systems and community settings, rather than simply studying problems in isolation.

The core public health problem this initiative targets is multimorbidity, meaning the co-occurrence and interaction of multiple health conditions that can compound one another over time. MCCI emphasizes reducing both the prevalence and the impact of multimorbidity among women and girls ages 15 to 44 who are at risk for, or living with, a wide range of conditions, including mental health disorders, substance use disorders, chronic stress, cardiopulmonary diseases, common metabolic disorders such as diabetes, cancer, and HIV/AIDS. The initiative is explicitly centered on racial and ethnic minority and other underserved populations, with an emphasis on those who experience the greatest barriers to high-quality care, including women and girls living in low-resource settings.

A defining feature of the initiative is its continuum of care model. Rather than treating conditions in separate silos, the concept is to plan an integrated system that connects preventive health services, primary care, behavioral health, integrative care, and specialty services in cardiopulmonary and endocrine care. The intent is to create a coordinated pathway that reflects how patients actually experience health and illness, especially when multiple conditions and social stressors overlap. By linking these service domains, MCCI aims to improve overall health and well-being, reduce fragmentation, and address the real-world complexity that often drives unequal outcomes in underserved communities.

Although it focuses on women and girls of reproductive age, the initiative is not framed as a maternal health program. The age range is prioritized because adolescence and early reproductive years are often when multimorbidity begins and can rapidly accelerate, setting the stage for severe chronic disease and disability later in life. In other words, this FOA is trying to intervene earlier in the life course, at a stage where prevention, early identification, and coordinated management can potentially shift long-term trajectories.

Because this is a planning-phase U34, the expected work is geared toward preparing for successful implementation at scale. The FOA highlights practical strategies such as building stakeholder partnerships (for example, collaborations among communities, patients, clinics, health systems, public health entities, and local organizations), training providers, and making infrastructure changes that improve access and quality. The planning emphasis suggests awardees will be expected to design implementation-ready models, clarify workflows and referral pathways, establish partnerships and governance structures, develop training and technical assistance plans, and define measurable outcomes and evaluation approaches suitable for dissemination and implementation research.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based organizations and governmental entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; tribal organizations other than federally recognized governments; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); small businesses; and other organizations. The FOA also calls out additional eligible applicant types such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), along with faith-based and community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, and U.S. territories or possessions.

Foreign participation is restricted. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities are not eligible to apply, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components (as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement) are not allowed. These restrictions mean applicants need to be fully U.S.-based in organizational structure and project execution.

Administratively, the opportunity is categorized as discretionary funding and uses a cooperative agreement funding instrument, which typically means NIH expects substantial programmatic involvement during the project period compared to a standard grant. The activity category is Education and Health, and the CFDA numbers listed are 93.273, 93.307, and 93.361. The FOA was created on March 6, 2024, and the original application due date is February 19, 2025. An award ceiling is not specified in the provided source information, and the expected number of awards is not listed in the excerpt.

Overall, this FOA is best understood as an NIH-supported planning effort to design integrated, culturally and contextually responsive continuums of care that can be implemented and sustained in real-world settings. Its ultimate goal is to reduce inequities by improving access, coordination, and effectiveness of care for underserved racial and ethnic minority women and girls who face intersecting burdens of behavioral health conditions, chronic disease risk, and structural barriers to high-quality healthcare.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Model Continuums of Care Initiative (MCCI) to Advance Health Equity and End Health Disparities Among Women and Girls in Racial/Ethnic Minority and Other Underserved Communities (U34 Clinical Trials Required)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.273, 93.307, 93.361.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-03-06.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-02-19. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

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