Impact of the Use of Glucose Monitoring and Control Technologies on Health Outcomes and Quality of Life in Older Adults with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) (R01 Clinical Trial Required) | RFA DK 17 024

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA DK 17 024

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) released this grant opportunity, RFA-DK-17-024, as an R01 funding announcement focused on older adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D), specifically people aged 65 years and older. The goal is to support clinical research that tests how current and emerging technologies for glucose monitoring and insulin delivery affect real-world health outcomes and quality of life in this age group. The emphasis on older adults reflects the fact that aging with T1D often comes with added clinical complexity, including higher vulnerability to severe hypoglycemia, greater likelihood of cognitive impairment, and the burden of multiple co-morbidities. Those factors can change both the benefits and the risks of diabetes technologies compared with younger populations, making it important to study effectiveness, safety, usability, and patient-centered outcomes directly in seniors rather than assuming results will generalize.

The FOA is explicitly designed for human clinical studies, and it requires a clinical trial. That means applicants are expected to propose rigorous, prospective clinical research in people, not laboratory or preclinical work. Applications that involve animal models or in vitro experiments are considered non-responsive, so the work needs to be centered on human participants and on evaluating technology use in clinical or real-life care settings. In practical terms, the studies NIH is encouraging could include trials of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), insulin pumps, automated insulin delivery or hybrid closed-loop systems, decision-support tools, connected devices, and other technology approaches that help monitor glucose trends and manage insulin dosing. While the announcement is not limited to any single device category, the unifying theme is evaluating technologies that influence glucose monitoring and insulin administration, and showing how they change outcomes that matter for older adults.

A key priority embedded in this opportunity is understanding hypoglycemia risk and prevention in the elderly. Older adults may be more susceptible to hypoglycemia and its downstream consequences, such as falls, injuries, emergency visits, cardiovascular stress, fear of hypoglycemia, and reduced independence. Cognitive impairment can make tasks like device management, responding to alarms, or adjusting insulin more difficult, and other chronic conditions or medications can complicate diabetes self-management. Because of this, NIH is looking for research that clarifies whether technologies improve safety and control in older adults, whether they introduce new barriers or burdens, and what the net effect is on daily functioning and well-being. Alongside clinical endpoints (like glucose control and hypoglycemia metrics), the FOA highlights quality of life as a central outcome, reflecting an interest in outcomes such as treatment satisfaction, diabetes distress, sleep disruption from alarms, confidence in self-management, caregiver burden, and the ability to maintain independence.

From a funding and administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary grant using the R01 mechanism, with an award ceiling listed at $500,000. The activity category is Health (and also listed under Food and Nutrition, Health), and the CFDA number is 93.847, which corresponds to diabetes and digestive and kidney diseases research under NIH. The original closing date shown in the source information is 2018-12-06, and the opportunity record was created on 2018-02-15. While those dates indicate the historical posting, the summary of scope and intent remains useful for understanding what NIH sought to fund under this call.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S. and non-U.S. organizations. Eligible applicants include state, county, city or township governments, special district governments, and independent school districts, as well as public and state-controlled institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education. Nonprofit organizations are eligible whether or not they hold 501(c)(3) status, and for-profit organizations (other than small businesses) and small businesses are also listed as eligible. Tribal entities are included in multiple forms, including federally recognized Native American tribal governments and Native American tribal organizations that are not federally recognized. The FOA also explicitly calls out additional eligible applicant categories 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), eligible federal agencies, faith-based and community-based organizations, regional organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, and non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign organizations). In short, NIH structured eligibility to encourage a wide range of institutions, including those serving diverse and underserved populations, to propose clinical trials that address the needs of older adults living with T1D.

Overall, the opportunity is centered on a practical, patient-focused problem: as more older adults live longer with type 1 diabetes, the field needs strong clinical evidence about how diabetes technologies perform in this population, including whether they reduce hypoglycemia, improve glycemic management, and enhance or hinder quality of life. The FOA aims to generate that evidence through human clinical trials that can guide clinicians, patients, caregivers, and health systems in choosing and implementing glucose monitoring and insulin delivery technologies that are truly beneficial for seniors with T1D.

• The National Institutes of Health in the food and nutrition, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Impact of the Use of Glucose Monitoring and Control Technologies on Health Outcomes and Quality of Life in Older Adults with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) (R01 Clinical Trial Required)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.847.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-02-15.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2018-12-06. (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.
• 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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