Digital Health Technology and Reciprocal Innovation to Improve Clinical and Public Health Outcomes

The National Institutes of Health, under the Department of Health and Human Services, is seeking research proposals focused on the development, validation, feasibility, and effectiveness of innovative digital health interventions—such as mobile health tools—tailored for underserved populations in both the United States and low- and middle-income countries. The initiative prioritizes the use of emerging technologies, platforms, systems, and data analytics to tackle high-priority health challenges, with the goal of expanding the evidence base for digital health solutions and improving clinical and public health outcomes. A core requirement is the implementation of reciprocal innovation methodologies, which demand a bidirectional and iterative exchange of ideas, resources, and approaches between U.S. and international research teams to address shared health issues. This collaboration is intended to generate generalizable knowledge by leveraging unique data, environments, and populations across domestic and global settings, ensuring that the benefits of the research extend meaningfully to both U.S. and low- and middle-income country communities.