The overarching purpose of this funding opportunity announcement is to solicit innovative multidisciplinary minority health and health disparities research and interventions at the interpersonal level, especially within and at the family level.

While the NIMHD Research Framework identifies interpersonal level factors as one of several levels contributing to minority health and health disparities. Interpersonal level research studies often focus on health risks and protective factors and health outcomes associated with specific dyads (i.e., parent-child, patient-physician), family environment and experiences (i.e., adverse childhood experiences, sibling, and peer relationships), and across healthcare settings (i.e., family roles in care giving, care management, and health-care related decision-making). Research on patient populations has centered on the health of the individual or patient level focusing on their condition and treatment or their risk and resilience while ignoring the health and well-being of other family members and the overall health of the family unit. Outside the caregiving and family studies literature, few studies explore the interaction of family level risk and protective factors (functioning, cohesion or resilience) or family level factors associated with family health outcome measures, such as family well-being, family health behaviors (nutritional practices, health beliefs and practices, physical activity/exercise, preventive screenings, healthcare utilization, or health outcomes). Research is lacking on how, when, and why families leverage various resources at the neighborhood, community, organizational or health services levels, and how technology or other resources have been leveraged to promote and protect family health or prevent or mitigate internal and external threats to family health or the health of family members.