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Mississippi Delta Health Collaborative (CDC RFA DP16-1612) - FAQs

What is the Mississippi Delta Health Collaborative grant opportunity?

The Mississippi Delta Health Collaborative (CDC RFA DP16-1612) is a CDC cooperative agreement focused on reducing the heavy burden of high blood pressure (hypertension) in the 18-county Mississippi Delta region. It is designed to support both population-wide and targeted strategies that prevent and control hypertension and reduce disparities tied to uncontrolled blood pressure.

What is the main goal of the program?

The overall aim is to improve hypertension prevention and control across the region, not only by improving individual treatment, but also by changing community conditions and strengthening health system practices. A core goal is to narrow racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic gaps associated with uncontrolled blood pressure among adults in the Mississippi Delta.

Who is the focus population for this opportunity?

The focus is on adults living in the Mississippi Delta. The opportunity calls for particular attention to priority adult subgroups experiencing uncontrolled high blood pressure and barriers such as inadequate access to care, lower quality of care, and broader inequities that contribute to worse outcomes.

What geographic area does the program cover?

The program is specific to the 18-county Mississippi Delta, described as a largely rural and underserved region with significant health disparities.

What kind of funding mechanism is this?

This opportunity is a CDC cooperative agreement. Under a cooperative agreement, recipients should expect substantial federal involvement typical of that funding instrument, including collaboration on planning, performance expectations, and program direction.

What are the required program components?

Applicants are required to implement two integrated components at the same time and in the same communities. The intent is for environmental change and clinical improvement to reinforce each other rather than operate separately.

What is Component 1?

Component 1 centers on environmental strategies that make healthy choices easier and more routine. This includes strengthening community environments that promote physical activity, expanding access to healthier foods and beverages with an emphasis on low- or no-sodium options, and increasing tobacco- and smoke-free environments.

Why does Component 1 emphasize low- or no-sodium options?

The program highlights low- or no-sodium options because sodium has an established link to hypertension. The intent is to support environmental changes that make lower-sodium choices more accessible in everyday settings.

What types of settings are implied for Component 1 strategies?

Component 1 points toward policy, systems, and environmental shifts in places where people live, work, and gather, with the goal of changing default conditions that shape daily behaviors and cardiovascular risk.

What is Component 2?

Component 2 targets health systems and community-clinical linkages. The work is expected to improve how health care settings identify, treat, and manage high blood pressure while also building stronger connections between clinics and community resources that can support patients outside the exam room.

What are examples of activities described under Component 2?

Examples described include strengthening referral pathways, improving follow-up and care coordination, using team-based care approaches, and ensuring people with uncontrolled hypertension are connected to community supports that help with self-management, lifestyle change, medication adherence, and overcoming access barriers.

How are Components 1 and 2 expected to work together?

The core expectation is that clinical improvements and community supports (Component 2) will be aligned with environmental changes (Component 1). Implementing both together in the same communities is intended to create a more complete prevention and control strategy across the region.

Is the program focused only on individual clinical care?

No. The opportunity emphasizes that the aim is not just to improve individual treatment. It is designed to support population-wide and targeted approaches, including environmental and systems-level changes that shape prevention and control of hypertension.

What does the opportunity say about addressing disparities?

The opportunity explicitly emphasizes narrowing racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic gaps tied to uncontrolled blood pressure among adults in the region, with attention to groups facing barriers such as limited access to care, lower quality of care, and broader inequities.

How is implementation structured across the region?

A major structural feature is local implementation combined with regional coordination. The primary awardee is expected to provide leadership, coordination, and technical assistance to selected communities across the Delta so the work is consistent and strategically organized rather than fragmented.

Does the CDC expect funds to be shared with local partners?

Yes. The applicant is strongly encouraged to pass through at least 50 percent of award funds as sub-awards to local and regional entities, reflecting CDC intent to resource community-level partners closest to affected people and places.

How many awards were anticipated?

CDC anticipated making one award under this opportunity.

What was the award ceiling?

The anticipated award ceiling was $3,150,000.

When was the opportunity posted and when did it close?

The opportunity was posted on May 11, 2016, with a closing date of July 13, 2016.

Which federal agency and program area issued the funding announcement?

The opportunity was issued under HHS/CDC/NCCDPHP and is in the health funding category.

What is the CFDA number associated with this opportunity?

The CFDA number listed for this opportunity is 93.816.

Who was eligible to apply?

Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others," with clarification referenced in the full announcement. This indicates eligibility was not limited to only a narrow class of applicants and depended on the specific criteria described in the eligibility section of the FOA.

What does "integrated components" mean in this program?

Based on the announcement summary, "integrated components" means implementing both the environmental strategies (Component 1) and the health systems/community-clinical linkage strategies (Component 2) concurrently and within the same communities, so each component strengthens the impact of the other.

What is the overall intended outcome of combining environmental change with health system strengthening?

The grant is structured to drive measurable improvements in hypertension prevention and control by combining community environment changes with health system strengthening, with intentional prioritization of populations in the Mississippi Delta facing the greatest barriers and highest risk.