R40 MCH Autism Intervention Research Program

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The R40 MCH Autism Intervention Research Program supports applied empirical research studies to advance the evidence base on the effectiveness of interventions to improve the health and well-being of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and other developmental disabilities (DD) and to advance best practices for the screening and diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities at an earlier age.  Consistent with HRSA¿s mission as the primary Federal agency for improving access to health care services to underserved populations and improving health equity, applicants are encouraged to propose research studies that address the unique and unaddressed needs of underserved populations, by considering ethnic/racial, cultural, linguistic, socioeconomic, literacy and geographic (e.g., rural/urban) diversity of individuals for whom there is limited evidence of the effectiveness of interventions or for whom disparities in identification of ASD exist with limited understanding of the reasons for these disparities and evidence-based ways to close these gaps.  HRSA, as the home of the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, is interested in analyses of rural-urban differences, where data allow.   Examples of research topics of interest to MCHB include, but are not limited to, the following: Development of valid and reliable tools for earlier screening and diagnosis; Use of existing diagnostic tools to improve the translation to earlier detection; Early intervention to improve outcomes; Health care access and continuity of care; Interventions to address the comorbidities experienced by those with ASD and other developmental disabilities; Barriers to identification, diagnosis, and receipt of interventions for undeserved, low-resource, and low literacy populations, including issues pertaining to insurance coverage and reimbursement; Supporting the needs of individuals with more severe disability challenges, such as individuals with limited or no verbal communication; Implementation of treatments or specific treatment components that demonstrate efficacy in research settings into community settings and in partnership with service systems; Implementation and dissemination of evidence-based medical home systems of comprehensive and continuous medical care; Family engagement/partnerships and family well-being; Variations in access to services affecting family functioning in diverse populations; Service systems and infrastructure including: characterizing the current ASD diagnostic and service utilization patterns in community settings, examining the relationship between diagnosis and services availability for ASD, and evaluating services and intervention outcomes; Prevention strategies and interventions to address safety issues including wandering; Interventions for adolescents to address the core symptoms of ASD (social impairments, communication and repetitive behaviors) or to improve adaptive behaviors that increase the potential for independence; Cost effectiveness, delivery and use of evidence-based interventions for underserved populations.

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