Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration

CMHS Consumer Affairs E-News
December 15, 2006, Vol. 06-128

NIMH Re-Isssues Funding Opportunity to Address Stigma and Discrimination

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institutes of Health (NIH), solicits applications for research to reduce mental illness stigma and discrimination. This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) was conceived in collaboration with the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and is in response to The President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health's (CMHS) call for a national campaign to reduce mental illness stigma. The CMHS has a long history of providing support for innovative anti-stigma programs and strategies. The Elimination of Barriers Initiative (EBI), a major undertaking to identify effective approaches in addressing mental illness stigma and discrimination, was launched in September 2003. The most recent effort is the National Anti-Stigma Campaign, a targeted public education campaign, initiated in April 2005.

In a parallel effort, the NIMH is taking several new steps to encourage research applications to substantially increase our knowledge about how to effectively reduce stigma and discrimination and their consequences. This FOA represents a continuation of this effort and its purpose is to provide funding for partnerships between (1) consumer and/or advocate organizations, communities, or state and local agencies with hands-on expertise in developing and implementing stigma reduction programs and strategies, and (2) social, behavioral, and/or communication scientists with expertise in stigma research design and methodology. These partnerships would undertake studies that will: assess the effectiveness of existing stigma and discrimination reduction programs and approaches, including media-oriented approaches such as public service announcements; examine how, why, and for whom existing programs or approaches work; develop innovative new programs and approaches; and provide a better understanding of the impact of varied media (e.g., television, newspapers, magazines, cinema, direct-to-consumer advertising, internet), both positive and negative, on attitudes and beliefs about mental illness, and in perpetuating and changing mental illness stigma and discrimination.

Further information can be found at this link: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-07-156.html.

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The Center for Mental Health Services is a component of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, United States Department of Health and Human Services.