Reducing Overscreening for Breast, Cervical, and Colorectal Cancers among Older Adults (R01) | PA 17 110

Opportunity Information: Apply for PA 17 110

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity titled "Reducing Overscreening for Breast, Cervical, and Colorectal Cancers among Older Adults (R01)" (Funding Opportunity Number: PA-17-110; CFDA: 93.394) supports research projects that aim to curb the unnecessary use of cancer screening tests in average-risk older adults. The core idea behind the announcement is that public health and clinical initiatives to increase screening have worked well overall, but as more people receive routine screening into older age, there is rising concern that some testing continues past the point where benefits outweigh harms. For many older adults, especially those with limited life expectancy, multiple chronic conditions, or higher vulnerability to complications, additional screening can lead to avoidable downstream procedures, anxiety, overdiagnosis, overtreatment, and medical complications without a meaningful improvement in longevity or quality of life.

This FOA specifically targets overscreening related to breast cancer, cervical cancer, and colorectal cancer. It prioritizes intervention research grounded in real-world healthcare settings, meaning projects should be designed to function within clinics, health systems, or other care delivery environments where screening decisions are actually made. The announcement recognizes that overscreening is not just the result of a single choice by a patient or clinician; it is often produced by a web of influences that can include patient expectations and fears, clinician habits and risk perceptions, workflow and time constraints, electronic health record prompts and quality metrics, institutional culture, and even community or organizational messaging that may unintentionally promote "more screening at any age" without emphasizing individualized decision-making.

A defining feature of this opportunity is its multi-level requirement. Proposed studies are expected to intervene at two or more levels (for example, patient and clinician; clinician and health system; health system and community organization), and they must measure outcomes at two or more levels as well. In other words, NIH is not looking for narrowly focused interventions that only change one piece of the system; it is looking for approaches that acknowledge interactions between people, care teams, and the larger healthcare infrastructure. Projects should explicitly account for how changes at one level can amplify or undermine changes at another level, such as how clinician education might fail without aligned EHR decision support, or how patient decision aids might be less effective if appointment workflows do not allow time for shared decision-making.

The research scope includes both understanding why overscreening happens and testing strategies to reduce it. Competitive applications would typically be expected to identify modifiable drivers of overuse, develop or adapt interventions that can be implemented in practice, and evaluate whether those interventions reduce inappropriate screening while maintaining patient-centered care. Outcomes could include screening rates among populations unlikely to benefit, changes in clinician ordering behavior, patient knowledge and decisional conflict, alignment of screening with evidence-based guidelines, referral patterns for follow-up testing, health system utilization, and broader patient-centered endpoints tied to functioning, independence, and quality of life. The FOA emphasizes the real-world consequences of overscreening, so proposals that consider harms (unnecessary procedures, complications, stress, and overdiagnosis) alongside benefits and system impacts are well aligned with the intent.

The funding mechanism is an R01 research project grant, and the opportunity falls under the discretionary grant category with an activity focus in education and health. The original closing date listed for this opportunity was January 24, 2018, and the sponsor agency is NIH. While an award ceiling and expected number of awards are not specified in the provided source text, applicants would generally be expected to propose budgets and timelines appropriate for an R01-scale intervention study conducted in healthcare delivery settings.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S. organizations and some international entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, city, township, and special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (excluding higher education institutions in those categories); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The FOA also highlights additional eligible applicants such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations), and U.S. territories or possessions. This breadth reflects NIH's interest in solutions that can be tested across diverse healthcare environments and populations, including settings that serve groups who may experience distinct barriers, communication needs, or patterns of healthcare use.

Overall, this FOA is aimed at shifting cancer screening practice for older adults toward more individualized, evidence-based decisions by reducing low-value testing and encouraging interventions that work across multiple layers of healthcare delivery. The ultimate goal is not simply lowering screening numbers, but improving care quality by avoiding preventable harms, supporting appropriate shared decision-making, and helping older adults maintain health, independence, and quality of life.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Reducing Overscreening for Breast, Cervical, and Colorectal Cancers among Older Adults (R01)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.394.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-01-09.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2018-01-24. (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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