The FDA is putting its money where its mouth is.
The Alliance for Pediatric Device Innovation, a nonprofit consortium led by Children's National Hospital in Washington, DC, is offering up to $150,000 in grants to help develop medical devices specifically designed for young people dealing with substance abuse, NBC News reports.
"Teens and tweens are such enthusiastic users of technology," says Dr. Lolaleh Eskandanian, vice president and chief innovation officer at Children's National.
"We believe that the time is right for new health technology solutions that can save lives and improve the health of our young people."
According to the National Institutes of Health, more than 3.6 million US youth, ages 12 to 17, used illicit drugs in 2017.
An average of 22 youth, ages 12 to 18, died weekly from an overdose between 2012 and 2017.
Only 1 in 10 had a history of treatment for a substance use problem, and only 1 in 7 had ever experienced a prior nonfatal overdose.
"Tragically, drug overdose is now the third leading cause of death among adolescents and, to improve outcomes, we need medical technologies that are specifically designed for the youth," Eskandanian says in a press release.
The announcement of the grant opportunity comes on the heels of the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse's
A customized collection of grant news from foundations and the federal government from around the Web.
Caroline Diehl is a serial social entrepreneur in the impact media space. She is Executive Chair and Founder of the UK’s only charitable and co-operatively owned national broadcast television channel Together TV, the leading broadcaster for social change runs a national TV channel in the UK and digital platform which helps people find inspiration to do good in their lives and communities.