NOT-AG-21-015 Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Aging-Relevant Behavioral and Social Research on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

NIA is issuing this Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) to highlight the continuing need for behavioral, psychological, social, and economic research on SARS-CoV-2 and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). There is a need for ongoing research on the longer-term effects of COVID-19 on the health and well-being of those infected, those caring for the sick, and many others whose lives were disrupted by the pandemic and its associated mitigation and prevention strategies. Beyond effects on individuals, this pandemic has brought about unprecedented social and economic disruption that is expected to have long-term and profound effects on the health of the population. These effects will likely be particularly acute for NIH-designated health disparity populations, and other COVID-19 vulnerable groups including older adults, who have experienced higher rates of COVID-19 infection, who in some cases rely on the efforts of paid and unpaid care partners, and who may have additional barriers to accessing the medical system itself. Further, middle-aged and older frontline healthcare and essential workers and their families face unique risks of exposure to both infection and other health-related outcomes by virtue of their employment.