; or (13) other topics determined appropriate by the Director. (d) Priority In awarding grants under subsection (a), the Director shall give individualized consideration to all relevant aspects of the applicant’s background. Consideration of prior research experience involving the health of underserved communities shall be such a factor. (e) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2024. 3417. Health disparities education program (a) Establishment The Secretary, acting through the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities and in collaboration with the Office of Minority Health, the Office for Civil Rights, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Health Resources and Services Administration, and other appropriate public and private entities, shall establish and coordinate a health and health care disparities education program to support, develop, and implement educational initiatives and outreach strategies that inform health care professionals and the public about the existence of and methods to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care. (b) Activities The Secretary, through the education program established under subsection (a), shall, through the use of public awareness and outreach campaigns targeting the general public and the medical community at large— (1) disseminate scientific evidence for the existence and extent of racial and ethnic disparities in health care, including disparities that are not otherwise attributable to known factors such as access to care, patient preferences, or appropriateness of intervention, as described in the 2002 Institute of Medicine Report entitled Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care , as well as the impact of disparities related to age, disability status, socioeconomic status, sex, gender identity, and sexual