SECONDARY ANALYSIS IN DEMOGRAPHY AND ECONOMICS OF AGING

Release Date:  March 20, 1998

PA NUMBER:  PAS-98-041

P.T.

National Institute on Aging

Application Receipt Dates:  April 29, 1998; June 16, 1998; October 16, 1998

PURPOSE

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) is seeking small grant (R03) applications
to:  1) stimulate and facilitate secondary analyses of data related to the
demography and economics of aging; 2) provide support for preliminary projects
using secondary analysis that could lead to subsequent applications for other
research project grant award mechanisms; 3) provide support for rapid analyses
of new databases and experimental modules for purposes such as informing the
design and content of future study waves; and 4) provide support for the
development, enhancement and assembly of new databases from existing data.

HEALTHY PEOPLE 2000

Each NIH PA addresses one or more of 22 Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
priority areas identified.  These areas can be found via the WWW at
http://www.crisny.org/health/us/health7.html.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Applications may be submitted by domestic for-profit and non-profit
organizations, public and private, such as universities, colleges, hospitals,
laboratories, units of State and local governments, and eligible agencies of the
Federal government. Foreign organizations and institutions are not eligible. 
Racial/ethnic minority individuals, women, and persons with disabilities are
encouraged to apply as principal investigators. Participation in the program by
investigators at minority institutions is strongly encouraged.  Applications from
new investigators and researchers new to aging are particularly encouraged.

MECHANISM OF SUPPORT

Applicants may request up to $50,000 (direct costs) for one year through the
small grant (R03) mechanism.  However, the grants will be awarded under Expanded
Authorities and are eligible for a single one-year no cost extension.  These
awards are not renewable.  If applicable, before completion of the R03,
investigators are encouraged to seek continuing support for research through
other grant award mechanisms.  Replacement of the Principal Investigator on this
award is not permitted.

FUNDS AVAILABLE

Approximately $1,000,000 will be available to fund 15 to 20 small grants,
contingent on high scientific merit and program priorities.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The Small Grant program is designed to:  support researchers interested in
undertaking secondary analyses of data related to the demography and economics
of aging; provide support for preliminary projects using secondary analysis that
could lead to subsequent applications for individual research awards; and provide
support for rapid analyses of new databases and experimental modules for purposes
such as informing the design and content of future study waves.  Development,
enhancement and assembly of new databases from existing data are permitted,
provided data analysis is also proposed. International comparative analyses are
encouraged.  Applications which are innovative and high risk with the likelihood
for high impact are especially encouraged.

Examples:

*   Biodemography of aging.  Topics of interest include:  heritability and
familial aggregation of disease and longevity; experimental demography;
incorporation of genetic variables into demographic models and age-specific
mortality rates; the population effects of genetic indicators of disease; and the
role of elderly in nature. (See Between Zeus and the Salmon: The Biodemography
of Longevity. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1997. Also available at
http://www.nap.edu). See also NIA Pilot Research Grant Program announcement which
permits original data collection (PAR-98-021).

*   Investigation of trends in chronic disease and disability, especially of the
factors underlying the recent trend in declining disability, in the older
population. Determination and estimation of causal factors underlying the trend
(e.g. medical technological interventions, health care access, early life
experiences, education, biomedical and social research advances, public health
measures).

*   Estimation of the impact of changes in the functional status of the older
population on Medicare and other health care costs. Estimation of the impact of
medical interventions on future lifetime health care costs. 

*   Economic analyses of the impact of aging-related biomedical and social
research and resulting new technologies and interventions.

*   Forecasting life and active life expectancy, health, medical services and
long term care usage.
Modeling risk factor trajectories and trends in noncommunicable disease
disability and mortality in developed and developing countries, with emphasis on
aging populations. Analyses and projections of the epidemiological transition in
developing countries.  Improved analysis and projections of the global burden of
disease (e.g. incorporating microdata on risk factors to model the impact of
interventions). (See Murray, C.J.L. and Lopez, A.D. 1996.  Evidence-Based Health
Policy þ Lessons from the Global Burden of Disease Study.  Science, 274, 740-
743).

*   Evaluations and simulations of the impact of changes in DHHS and SSA policies
(e.g. changing the age of eligibility for Medicare and Social Security benefits)
on the health and functioning of the older population.

*   Health, work and retirement, including:  implications of population aging for
public and private retirement programs and for income security of future retirees
(See Assessing Knowledge of Retirement Behavior. Washington, DC: National Academy
Press. 1996 and Assessing Policies for Retirement Income: Needs for Data,
Research, and Models. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. 1997. Both
available at http://www.nap.edu); determinants of retirement, family labor
supply, and saving; consequences of retirement for health and functioning;
comparative studies of labor force activity; effects of psychological factors
(e.g. expectations, risk taking, altruism, time preferences, etc.) and mental
health characteristics (e.g. depression) on economic behaviors (e.g. savings and
transfers); economic and demographic analyses of employer- and organizational-
level determinants of labor force participation at older ages.

*   Interactions between health and economic status over time; relationship
between health and wealth; role of social cohesion as a mediating factor;
improved measures of socioeconomic position for aging populations; economic
determinants of health promotion and disease prevention behaviors.

*   Studies of the health of diverse racial and ethnic older populations.
Variables of interest include the effects of lifelong poverty, birth weight,
access to employer-provided health insurance, recency and circumstances of
immigration; the strain of physically demanding work; wealth, income and early-
life health status; and experiences of discrimination.  (See Racial and Ethnic
Differences in the Health of Older Americans. Washington, DC: National Academy
Press. 1997. Also available at http://www.nap.edu).

*   Demography and economics of dementia and Alzheimer's Disease, and of AIDS in
older populations.

*   General demographic analyses of population aging, including: the aging of the
baby boom cohort; historical demographic and epidemiological research on the
aging process and on the determinants of health and mortality in older
populations; migration and immigration; the impact of state and small area
characteristics on health; improved descriptive analyses of centenarian
populations; macro and micro dynamics of intergenerational exchanges; use of
public and private resources in the period before death; and comparative
international analyses of population aging using Census and other data.  (See
Demography, 34: 1. February 1997; and Demography of Aging. Washington DC:
National Academy Press. 1994.  Also available at http://www.nap.edu).

Priority will be given to proposals undertaking secondary analysis of publicly
available datasets of high Congressional and NIA priority, such as the Health and
Retirement Study (HRS) (see The Journal of Human Resources, 30. Supplement 1995),
Asset and Health Dynamics of the Oldest-Old (AHEAD) (see The Journals of
Gerontology Series B, 52B. Special Issue, May 1997), and the National Long Term
Care Survey (NLTCS) (See Manton et al. 1997. Chronic Disability Trends in Elderly
United States Populations: 1982-1984.  Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 94, 2593-2598). 
Other datasets supported by NIA which are in the public domain include:
Australian Longitudinal Study of Aging (ALSA); Current Population Survey (CPS);
Early Indicators of Later Work Levels, Disease, and Death; Epidemiology of
Chronic Disease in the Oldest Old; Established Populations for Epidemiologic
Studies of the Elderly (EPESE); German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP); Indonesian
Family Life Survey (IFLS); Longitudinal Study of Aging (LSOA); Supplement on
Aging II (SOA II); Luxembourg Income Study (LIS); Malaysian Family Life Survey
(MFLS); National Longitudinal Survey (NLS): 1990 Resurvey of Older Males;
National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH) Reinterview; Odense Archive of
Population Data on Aging; Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID); 1990 Public-Use
Microdata Sample for the Older Population and the comparable samples from ECE
countries (collected by the UN/ECE/PAU); and the Wisconsin Longitudinal Survey
(WLS).

Since replication is a fundamental tenet of science, applicants should provide
compelling justification for using data which are restricted because of
confidentiality, privacy, international or other legal considerations.

Upon request, program staff listed under INQUIRIES will send applicants
information about these and other datasets, including instructions on how the
data can be accessed. 

Although this Program Announcement is oriented primarily to the demography and
economics of aging, the datasets listed above, among others, may also be relevant
to other areas in the behavioral and social sciences.  For such programmatic
information, contact staff listed under INQUIRIES.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES

The submission (new and revised), review, and award schedule for the Small
Research Grant Program is:

Application Receipt Dates:  Apr 29       Jun 16      Oct 16
Review:                     Jun-Jul      Oct-Nov     Feb-Mar
Earliest Funding:           Sep 98       Jan 99      May 99

Only one Small Grant application may be submitted by a principal investigator per
receipt date.  Applicants may not submit other research project grant
applications on the same topic concurrent (to be considered at the same review
cycle) with the submission of a Small Grant application.

Applications are to be submitted on the grant application form PHS 398 (rev.
5/95) and prepared according to the directions in the application packet, with
the exceptions noted below.  Application kits are available at most institutional
offices of sponsored research and may be obtained from the Division of Extramural
Outreach and Information Resources, National Institutes of Health, 6701 Rockledge
Drive, MSC 7910, Bethesda, MD 20892-7910, telephone (301) 435-0714, FAX (301)
480-0525, Email: ASKNIH@OD.NIH.GOV.  On the face page of the application: Item
2 type "SECONDARY ANALYSIS IN DEMOGRAPHY AND ECONOMICS OF AGING".  Check the
"YES" box.

Research plan: Do not exceed a total of ten pages for the following parts (a-d):
specific aims, background and significance, progress report/preliminary studies,
and experimental design and methods.  Tables and figures are included in the ten
page limitation.  Applications that exceed the page limitation or PHS
requirements for type size and margins  (Refer to PHS 398 application for
details) will be returned to the investigator.  The ten page limitation does not
include parts e through i. (Human Subjects, Vertebrate Animals, Literature Cited,
Consortium Arrangements, Consultants).  For amended applications, an Introduction
not exceeding one page is permitted.  Appendix materials are permitted only for
glossy photos and may not be used to circumvent the page limitations.

Materials submitted after the receipt date:  No additional materials pertaining
to a particular application will be accepted after the receipt date for which the
application is submitted except for certification of Institutional Review Board
(IRB) approval. As specified in the PHS 398 form, certification of IRB approval
must be received within 60 days after the receipt date for which the application
is submitted.

Submit a signed, original of the application, and five exact photocopies,
including the checklist, in one package to:

CENTER FOR SCIENTIFIC REVIEW
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
6701 ROCKLEDGE DRIVE, ROOM 1040 - MSC-7710
BETHESDA, MD  20892-7710
BETHESDA, MD  20817 (for express/courier service)

REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS

Applications will be assigned on the basis of established PHS referral
guidelines. Applications that are complete will be evaluated for scientific and
technical merit by an appropriate peer review group convened in accordance with
the standard NIH peer review procedures. As part of the initial merit review, all
applications will receive a written critique and undergo a process in which only
those applications deemed to have the highest scientific merit, generally the top
half of applications under review, will be discussed and assigned a priority
score.

The five criteria to be used in the evaluation of grant applications are listed
below.

The goals of NIH-supported research are to advance our understanding of
biological systems, improve the control of disease, and enhance health.  In the
written review, comments on the following aspects of the application will be made
in order to judge the likelihood that the proposed research will have a
substantial impact on the pursuit of these goals.  Each of these criteria will
be addressed and considered in the assignment of the overall score.

1.  Significance.  Does this study address an important problem? If the aims of
the application are achieved, how will scientific knowledge be advanced?  What
will be the effect of these studies on the concepts or methods that drive this
field?

2.  Approach.  Are the conceptual framework, design, methods, and analyses
adequately developed, well-integrated, and appropriate to the aims of the
project?  Does the applicant acknowledge potential problem areas and consider
alternative tactics? 

3.  Innovation.  Does the project employ novel concepts, approaches or method? 
Are the aims original and innovative? Does the project challenge existing
paradigms or develop new methodologies or technologies?  Does the project offer
þhigh riskþ with the likelihood for þhigh gainþ?

4.  Investigator.  Is the investigator appropriately trained and well suited to
carry out this work?  Is the work proposed appropriate to the experience level
of the principal investigator and other researchers (if any)?

5.  Environment.  Does the scientific environment in which the work will be done
contribute to the probability of success?  Do the proposed experiments take
advantage of unique features of the scientific environment or employ useful
collaborative arrangements?  Is there evidence of institutional support?

Additional factors to be considered:

The initial review group will also examine: the likelihood that the project will
lead to the development of an R01 application, or significant advancement of
aging research; the appropriateness of proposed project budget and duration; the
adequacy of coverage of both genders and minorities and their subgroups in the
dataset proposed for the secondary analysis, as appropriate for the scientific
goals of the study; the adequacy of the proposed dataset to protect the
identifiability of human subjects; and the safety of the research environment.

AWARD CRITERIA

Applications will compete for available funds with all other approved
applications.  The following will be considered in making funding decisions:

o  quality of the proposed project as determined by peer review;
o  availability of funds;
o  program priority

INQUIRIES

Inquiries are encouraged.  The opportunity to clarify any issues or questions
from potential applicants is welcome.

For information about the datasets described above, send your inquiry to:

Donna Perry
Behavioral and Social Research Program
National Institute on Aging
7201 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 533, MSC 9205
Bethesda, MD  20892-9205
Email:  Donna_Perry@nih.gov (email correspondence is preferred)
Telephone:  (301) 496-3138
FAX:  (301) 402-0051

Direct inquiries regarding programmatic issues (including those not related to
the demography or economics of aging but that may be relevant to other areas in
the behavioral and social sciences) to:

Georgeanne E. Patmios
Behavioral and Social Research Program
National Institute on Aging
7201 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 533, MSC 9205
Bethesda, MD  20892-9205
Email:  Patmios@nih.gov (e-mail correspondence is preferred)
Telephone:  (301) 496-3138
FAX:  (301) 402-0051

Direct inquiries regarding fiscal matters to:

David Reiter
Grants and Contracts Management Office
National Institute on Aging
7201 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 2N212, MSC 9205
Bethesda, MD  20892
Email:  David_Reiter@nih.gov (e-mail correspondence is preferred)
Telephone:  (301) 496-1472
FAX:  (301) 402-3672

AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS

This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance No.
93.866.  Awards are made under authorization of the Public Health Service Act,
Title IV, Part A (Public Law 78-410), as amended by Public Law 99-158, 42 USC 241
and 285) and administered under PHS grants policies and Federal Regulations 42
CFR 52 and 45 CFR Part 74.  This program is not subject to the intergovernmental
review requirements of Executive Order 12372 or Health Systems Agency review.

The PHS strongly encourages all grant and contract recipients to provide a smoke-
free workplace and promote the non-use of all tobacco products.  In addition,
Public Law 103-227, the Pro-Children Act of 1994, prohibits smoking in certain
facilities (or in some cases, any portion of a facility) in which regular or
routine education, library, day care, health care or early childhood development
services are provided to children.  This is consistent with the PHS mission to
protect and advance the physical and mental health of the American people.

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