SOPT Health Equity Grant Proposal Form
Deadline: February 1, 2024, 11:59PM Central Time
 
The SOPT Health Equity Grants are made possible by the generous support of ByHeart.
If you're considering applying, check out our Q&A (Video Recording | Audio Only) that we hosted on January 3, 2023, to learn more about preparing your proposal!
 
Program Overview
The goal of the Section on Pediatric Trainees (SOPT) Health Equity Grant Program is to support medical students, residents, and fellowship trainees in conducting research, implementing interventions, and delivering education that address health disparities, health equity, lack of diversity in medicine, or environmental justice. The efforts of trainees hailing from groups under-represented in medicine (URM) will be specifically prioritized.

The SOPT defines underrepresented minority using the AAMC's definition of URM in medicine: "Underrepresented in medicine means those racial and ethnic populations that are underrepresented in the medical profession relative to their numbers in the general population."

Recipients will receive up to $3,000 funding and will be encouraged to seek out mentorship, either through their institution, community, or via the AAP Mentorship Program (AAP login and membership required to access the program). Depending on interest, grant recipients may be invited to connect virtually for informal meetings to share challenges and resources.

Health Equity Grant Program Goals/Objectives
Your project should align with one of the proposal categories outlined below. If you have a question on where your proposal fits, please reach out to AAP Staff.

  1. Nutrition Disparities/Food Insecurity: Develop clinical or community programs that address food insecurity or nutrition challenges.
  2. Educational Programming: Increase knowledge access to resources focused on anti-racism, bias, health inequities and health disparities, racial injustices, as well as social determinants of health.
  3. Provider Training: Increase provider competency to respond to bias and discrimination in clinical settings.
  4. Trainee Community Building/Education: Create opportunities for trainee members to engage in discussions and share strategies and resources on addressing racism in their practices, institutions, and/or communities.
  5. Clinical Care/Patient or Family Programming: Facilitate learning to develop best practices in delivering inclusive, equitable clinical care.
  6. Exposure/Recruitment of New Physicians:  Increase awareness of  the benefits of a career in medicine to underrepresented communities to increase diversity in pediatrics.
  7. Research/Data Collection: Gather data to support initiatives related to bias, physician attitude, discrimination, and health inequities. 
  8. Community Intervention: Share models for health care or community-based program delivery that are inclusive and address health disparities.
Project Types
The review committee is accepting proposals of varying types - program implementation, research studies, community initiatives, etc. ​​More information on the projects selected for the 2023 grant is a​vailable here (AAP login required).
 
Project Length
11 months: March 2024 – February 2025. Projects may be shorter or longer in duration than the grant support period and this may depend on the nature of the program.

Project Reporting
Recipients will be asked to collect data as it aligns with their project goals. Funding must be spent by February 2025. Final project summaries will be due March 2025.  

Application Process and Review
The SOPT Health Equity grant is open to all applicants with the initiatives of URM trainees being specifically prioritized. We do recognize that there exists a lack of diversity within medicine which is not captured by the AAMC URM definition and will review each application individually. Applicants will gather information on project goals, activities, and potential for sustainability. Applicants will be asked to provide information on the diverse perspective they would bring to the project implementation, whether it is through racial/ethnic belonging, disability status, practice community, etc. Applications will be reviewed by the SOPT leadership, including the SOPT Executive Coordinator of Child Health, Executive Coordinator of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, SOPT Advocacy Campaign Leadership, and members of SOPT workgroups. Applications will be blinded during the review process, and decisions for awards and allocation of funding will be discussed and made together.

Timeline

  1. Trainee members complete an online application detailing their project, to include a summary, goals/objectives, budget, and timeline. (December 6, 2023 - February 1, 2024)
  2. Grant applications will be reviewed by a committee of early career and trainee leaders. (February 2024)
  3. Funding will be distributed/awarded. (March 2024)
  4. Trainee projects will be implemented. (March 2024-February 2025)
  5. Final reports will be due. (March 2025)
Permitted Purposes for Funding
Grant funding shall be used for costs associated with research or programmatic implementation. It shall not be used for salaries or fringe benefits. In addition, funds may not be used (a) to carry on propaganda or to otherwise attempt to influence legislation, (b) to influence the outcome of any specific public election, (c) for voter registration drives, or (d) for any purpose not considered charitable or educational within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
 
Individual projects can receive up to $3,450 in funding, and budgets may include a maximum of $3,000 in programmatic costs. To offset the burden of project implementation supported by small institutions and not-for-profit fiscal agents, indirect costs may be included. Indirect costs may be up to 15% of programmatic budget, or $450 maximum. These will be added to the $3,000 maximum in programmatic costs, for a total maximum budget of $3,450.

Applicants are asked to provide a budget to support their funding request. Payments will be made in alignment with the grant's Payment Procedures. If selected as a grant recipient, no changes may be made to the Grant Budget without prior written approval from the AAP. Any portion of the Grant not expended for the Permitted Purposes at the completion of the project, or if sooner, at the end of the Grant Period, including any extensions approved, shall be immediately refunded to the AAP.

To avoid the possibility of personal tax liability, it will be necessary for you to agree to either:

a.) Submit detailed receipts and an expense report that will provide the basis for reimbursement of up to $3,000 in grant award funding.

or 

b.) Appoint a tax-exempt fiscal agent once you receive your grant award notification. Click here to learn more about what a fiscal agent is and their role. AAP Chapters, your residency program institution, and local community organizations may be able to serve in this role. If you do not have a fiscal agent and are selected, AAP staff may be available to provide guidance in securing one. (Note: The institution or organization that acts as the fiscal agent is not the grantee or co-grantee.)

Eligibility
Applications are welcome from those of all training levels - medical students, residents, and fellowship trainees. While there are no restrictions on where applicants may be in their training, the review committee may prioritize proposals from applicants who outline plans for completing the project prior to training completion (if they are in their final year), or explain their how their research/project will be able to continue uniterrupted beyond their training, while remaining within the timeframe of the grant.
 
If you have any questions or need assistance completing this application due to a disability, please contact Britt Nagy.
 
If you would like to compose your responses prior to completing this application, you are welcome to download a PDF version of the application by clicking here.

Applicant Information

If you are part of a team, you may enter the primary contact person's information below.
Please select your AAP Membership Category from the list below.

AAP membership is available to medical students for $25/year, and residents who are not part of a dues-sponsored program may join for $130/year. To register, visit shop.aap.org, and complete your membership application form.

As part of our commitment to equity, if you are a medical student unable to afford the $25 registration fee, please reach out to Britt Nagy.

From the list below, please check all for which you have a current membership, if applicable.
Affirmed Pronouns *
 
For the purposes of this grant, teams must be no more than 6 individuals. Please list the first and last names of up to 6 members of your team in the spaces provided below. Click the (+) to add a line for each name.
+-
Team Member Email Address(es), if applicable
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Proposal Details

For the questions below, please provide as much detail as you feel comfortable. Your responses serve as the primary basis for review and selection. 

Note: Please know that the Health Equity Grant review committee is committed to equity in their application review.

2.) Proposal Category (select all that apply) *
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5.) Budget. Please list the activities with budgeted costs for which you are seeking funding from this grant program. Please remember that the maximum funding available is $3,300, with a maximum of $3,000 in programmatic costs. To offset the burden of project implementation supported by small institutions and not-for-profit fiscal agents, indirect costs may be included. Indirect costs may be up to 15% of programmatic budget, or $450 maximum. These will be added to the $3,000 maximum in programmatic costs, for a total maximum budget of $3,450.
 Activity NameDescription & FormulaAmount (Numbers only, no $)
Item 1
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Item 4
Item 5
Item 6
Item 7
Item 8
TOTAL
6.) As a reminder, individual projects can receive up to a max of $3,000 in funding. Payments will be made in alignment with the grant's Payment Procedures. For more information about a fiscal agent and their role, click here.
 
From the options below, please select your preferred method of grant award funding receipt:
 *
 
If you are using your local AAP chapter as a fiscal agent, please check this box to confirm that you have connected with your AAP Chapter Executive Director (AAP login required) and they have agreed to serve as a fiscal agent.
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9.) Do you identify as a member of a group that is underrepresented in medicine? This program defines this using the Association of American Medical College's definition of underrepresented in medicine, which is, "those racial and ethnic populations that are underrepresented in the medical profession relative to their numbers in the general population." *

Demographic Details

This section is not shared with reviewers.
 
As part of the Section's commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion, we are collecting the information in this section to understand more about the SOPT members that are applying for our programs. This data will be reported back in summary form to the SOPT Executive Committee and AAP Leadership; no individual identifying information will be included. You are not required to answer any of the questions below. 
If you are a resident or fellowship trainee, how would you best describe your institution?
 
What is your current gender identity? Check all that apply.
 
With what racial or cultural group(s) do you identify yourself? Check all that apply.
 
Which of the following best represents how you think of yourself? Check all that apply.
 
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) you have a disability if you have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity. By this definition, do you have a disability?
Please describe the community in which your school/program is located.
Are you an International Medical Graduate or currently in a medical school located outside of the United States?
 
Please be sure to submit this application form by:
 11:59pm Central Time on Thursday, February 1, 2024
 
Questions? Email bnagy@aap.org