The Role of Human-Animal Interaction in Child Health and Development (R01)

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Purpose. The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) solicits Research Project Grant (R01) applications from institutions/ organizations that propose to study the impact of human-animal interaction (HAI) on children's health and development and to test the efficacy of therapeutic uses of HAI with children. In 2008 NICHD and The WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition, a division of Mars, Incorporated, entered into a public-private partnership to explore the interaction between humans and animals. The partnership encourages research on Human-Animal Interaction (HAI), especially as it relates to child development, health and the therapeutic use of animals with children and adolescents. This shared interest resulted in The WALTHAM Centre donating funds to NICHD to enhance NICHDs ability to support research in this field.The purpose of this FOA is to build an empirical research base on how children perceive, relate to and think about animals; how pets in the home impact children's social and emotional development and health (e.g. allergies, the immune system, asthma, mitigation of obesity); and whether and under what conditions therapeutic uses of animals is safe and effective. Mechanism of Support. This FOA will utilize the NIH Research Project Grant (R01) grant mechanism and runs in parallel with a FOA of identical scientific scope, RFA-HD-09-030 that solicits applications under the NIH Small Research Grant (R03) mechanism. Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards. The total amount of funding that NIH expects to award through this announcement is $2 million per year, with $500,000 from NINR, $1.5 million from NICHD, of which $250,000 has been donated by The WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition, a division of Mars, Incorporated, as part of a public-private partnership with the NICHD. The anticipated number of awards is 3-4.

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