Evaluation of Health Promotion and Prevention Programs for Blood Disorders | CDC RFA DD20 2002

Opportunity Information: Apply for CDC RFA DD20 2002

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), through the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD), released a cooperative agreement funding opportunity called "Evaluation of Health Promotion and Prevention Programs for Blood Disorders" (CDC-RFA-DD20-2002). The grant is focused on reducing illness and deaths linked to blood disorders, which collectively affect about one in 76 people in the United States. The core aim is to strengthen the availability and use of credible health information, expand evidence-based training, and support the real-world implementation and evaluation of proven health promotion and education programs. A key theme throughout the opportunity is using a health promotion framework to push earlier identification of problems, timely intervention, and better long-term management, all with the goal of improving patient outcomes.

The notice is organized into three separate components tied to specific conditions: (1) Hemophilia and von Willebrand disease (VWD), (2) venous thromboembolism (VTE), and (3) thalassemia. Applicants are expected to choose only one component to apply under, rather than proposing work across multiple components. Across all components, the emphasis is not just on delivering outreach or education, but on doing so in an evidence-based way and building in evaluation so the field gains reliable information about what works, for whom, and under what conditions.

Component 1 centers on hemophilia and VWD, the most common inherited bleeding disorders. Hemophilia affects around 20,000 people in the US, while VWD can affect up to 3.2 million. These conditions increase the risk of spontaneous bleeding and bleeding after injuries or surgeries, which can lead to serious complications if not recognized and managed appropriately. For this component, applicants must focus their proposal around at least two out of three required option areas (or they may choose all three). The options include treatment issues specific to males, inhibitor development (a major complication where patients develop antibodies that reduce the effectiveness of clotting factor treatment), and the needs of women with bleeding disorders, who are often underdiagnosed or face unique challenges related to menstruation, pregnancy, and childbirth. The intent is to support targeted education, training, and program strategies that improve care and outcomes across these priority areas, backed by evaluation.

Component 2 addresses VTE, a condition that includes deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. The NOFO highlights the scale of the problem: as many as 900,000 people affected each year, up to 100,000 deaths, and roughly 10 billion dollars in healthcare costs annually. A major focus is hospital-associated VTE, since more than half of VTE events are linked to recent hospitalization and many of these events are preventable. The funding is designed to maintain and expand awareness using existing credible VTE materials, while also promoting consistent adoption of prevention best practices in hospitals. This includes encouraging the use of risk assessment models and appropriate prophylaxis (preventive treatment), and increasing awareness of tools that can improve early detection and management, such as natural language processing approaches that help identify VTE cases from clinical data. The overall direction is to move VTE prevention from uneven, ad hoc practices toward more systematic, reliable implementation supported by education and measurable evaluation.

Component 3 focuses on thalassemia, specifically beta thalassemia major, the most severe form, affecting at least 1,000 people in the US. The NOFO underscores that blood transfusions are the foundation of care for beta thalassemia major, but that transfusion-related complications can drive substantial illness and death. This component is meant to build on earlier efforts and previously developed strategies, with an emphasis on scaling and expanding approaches that can better locate and engage people with thalassemia and disseminate evidence-based, credible health information. In practical terms, this signals an interest in outreach and education models that can be broadened and evaluated for their effectiveness in improving knowledge, engagement in care, and management of complications related to long-term transfusion therapy.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary CDC cooperative agreement, meaning awardees should expect substantial involvement or partnership with CDC in carrying out the work compared with a more hands-off grant mechanism. The opportunity was listed under CFDA 93.080, with an award ceiling of $500,000 and an expectation of about five awards. Eligibility is broad and includes many types of public and private entities, such as state and local governments, tribal governments and organizations, public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status, for-profit entities (including small businesses), and other eligible applicants as clarified in the NOFO. The original posting shows a creation date of February 8, 2020, with an original application deadline of April 30, 2020, and electronic submissions due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the due date.

Overall, the opportunity is best understood as a structured effort to improve public health outcomes for major blood disorder groups by pairing credible education and training with practical implementation support and strong evaluation. Rather than funding basic research, it prioritizes programs that can be put into practice, measured, and refined so health systems, providers, and communities have clearer guidance on effective prevention and health promotion strategies for hemophilia/VWD, VTE, or thalassemia.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control - NCBDDD in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Evaluation of Health Promotion and Prevention Programs for Blood Disorders" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.080.
• This funding opportunity was created on Feb 08, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 30, 2020 Electronically submitted applications must be submitted no later than 1159 p.m., ET, on the listed application due date.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 5 candidate(s).
• 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 (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification), Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

Apply for CDC RFA DD20 2002

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