Navigator Emergency Department Diversion Models for Non-Urgent Mental Health Concerns (R01 Clinical Trial Required)
Research aims to improve family navigation ED diversion models for non-urgent mental health issues, focusing on effectiveness and optimization for connecting families to mental health resources.
Funder: National Institutes of Health
Due Dates: November 5, 2026 (Resubmission/revision) | February 5, 2027 (New) | March 5, 2027 (Resubmission/revision) | June 5, 2027 (New) | July 5, 2027 (Resubmission/revision) | October 5, 2027 (New) | November 5, 2027 (Resubmission/revision) | January 7, 2028 (Closing)
Funding Amounts: No budget cap; requests must reflect project needs; up to 5 years; no cost sharing required
Summary: Supports clinical trials testing the effectiveness, implementation, and optimization of navigator-led emergency department diversion for non-urgent youth mental health concerns.
Key Information: Preliminary data and a definitive, adequately powered clinical trial are required; foreign organizations and foreign components are ineligible.
Description
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of NIH, supports R01 research testing patient navigation models that divert youth with non-urgent mental health concerns from emergency departments (EDs). Non-urgent visits are those for which a delay of several hours would not increase the potential for an adverse outcome. Navigators may be mental health professionals, allied providers such as nurses, or lay providers such as peers and community health workers.
Models should triage mental health acuity, support caregivers, build mental health knowledge, connect families with community services and resources, and address help-seeking barriers. Research should establish how, why, and for whom navigation works, including mechanisms of action and implementation outcomes. NIMH prioritizes scalable approaches that do not depend on research resources or extensive outside consultation.
