he Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has issued a Request for Proposals for its Evidence for Action: Making Health a Shared Value program.
The purpose of the program is to improve the foundation's understanding of the Action Area 1 drivers and outcomes related to health, well-being, and equity, particularly with respect to disadvantaged children and families. To that end, the foundation seeks evidence on the extent to which Action Area 1 drivers — mindsets and expectations, sense of community, and civic engagement — can be changed through intervention at the individual or population levels, resulting in better health, well-being, and equity outcomes.
An ideal study to provide such evidence would experimentally manipulate a driver, measure changes in that driver, and then measure resulting health impacts. However, RWJF recognizes that a variety of constraints could preclude such a design within the parameters of this funding opportunity. Consequently, the foundation has established two key aims for funding through the program.
1) Aim 1: To test the effects of specific interventions on the Action Area 1 drivers, in order to determine the extent to which they can be changed; and
2) Aim 2: To establish evidence of causal relationships between Action Area 1 drivers and health outcomes.
While projects that can achieve both aims are preferred, the foundation also anticipates funding research that addresses either aim independently. In addition, it hopes to support research that can assess the potential of drivers to “move the needle” on health, well-being, and equity outcomes for children and families by examining Action Area 1 drivers within the context of underlying and structural determinants of health.
RWJF will award up to $2.5 million through the program, with the majority of funding dedicated to research that is either specific to disadvantaged children and families, or that will benefit these groups.
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