SOURCES SOUGHT
A -- Podoconiosis Research in Wolaita Zone of Ethiopia
- Notice Date
- 5/2/2012
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541712
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, Rockledge Dr. Bethesda, MD, Office of Acquisitions, 6701 Rockledge Dr RKL2/6100 MSC 7902, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892-7902
- ZIP Code
- 20892-7902
- Solicitation Number
- NHLBI-CSB-(HG)-2012-129-DLM
- Archive Date
- 5/31/2012
- Point of Contact
- Dorothy Maxwell, Phone: 301-435-0352
- E-Mail Address
-
maxwelld@mail.nih.gov
(maxwelld@mail.nih.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- This Sources Sought Notice (SS) is for information and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). The NHLBI does not intend to award a contract on the basis of responses nor otherwise pay for the preparation of any information submitted. As a result of this Sources Sought notice, the NHLBI may issue a Request for Quote (RFQ). THERE IS NO SOLICITATION AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME. However, should such a requirement materialize, no basis for claims against NHLBI shall arise as a result of a response to this Sources Sought notice or the NHLBI's use of such information as either part of our evaluation process or in developing specifications for any subsequent requirement. The NHLBI is seeking capability statements from all eligible businesses concerns under the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 541712 Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences with Business Size Standards in number of employees 500. The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), Social & Behavioral Research Branch (SDRB) in partnership with the Mossy Foot Treatment and Prevention Association (MFTPA) in Ethiopia, has conducted formative research to support the development and delivery of prevention and education intervention to address the problem of podoconiosis in the Wolaita region of Ethiopia. The Contractor in conjunction with the Government will conduct activities in two of the original communities that participated in the qualitative data collection part (Phase 1) of the project. These communities are Gununo and Kercheche, located at 25km and 50km from Sodo town, which is a small town and home of the Mossy Foot Treatment & Prevention Association, our NGO partner in this endeavor. These activities will include about 30 individuals at each site. The target audiences we will be approaching include: parents of high risk children, farmers, local agricultural organization employees, MFTPA lay health workers, religious leaders, local disc jockeys, and high risk children. We are not conducting evaluation activities in the two other pilot communities (i.e., Gesuba and Hobicha) as our initial qualitative activities indicated relatively consistent findings among the four sites. The intervention will be directed to two priority target groups: 1) Children aged 7-15 at high risk for podoconiosis (child is a first or second degree blood relative of an individual with podoconiosis who is receiving services from the MFTPA), and 2) Parents and primary caregivers of high risk children aged 7-15. The lower end of the age range was selected because 7 is an age at which many children in the community are eligible to attend school and thus, allows intervention activities to capitalize on this transition to motivate shoe wearing. Seven years is also an age at which foot growth begins to stabilize thus necessitating fewer shoe replacements (allowing for shoes to be worn longer). The upper end of the age range was chosen because it marks the transition to early adulthood when marriage and child-bearing become possible. However, pre-testing may suggest adjustments or expansions in the age range. Both children and parents were chosen because prior research consistently shows that attitudes, beliefs, and practices of both groups have powerful influences on the behavior of the children. In addition to the two priority populations, intervention activities also will include lay health advisors (LHAs; individuals within the community who are conveyors of information and support), community gate keepers such as church elders, and MFTPA workers. The intervention will engage these secondary groups with the objective of bolstering credibility of the intervention within the priority target groups and fostering appropriate role modeling. Intervention design and content are primarily aligned with the Socio-Ecological Model. This model assumes a holistic approach in which individual (knowledge, attitudes, skills), interpersonal (family and others), organizational (institutions and organizations), community (organizational relationships), and policy aspects are jointly considered in addressing a health problem. The primary behaviors being addressed by the intervention include: • children failing to wear shoes while working in the fields, • children failing to wear shoes around the house and while playing, • children preserving shoes by wearing them irregularly, • parents forgoing shoe purchase or attainment, • parents discouraging or failing to encourage shoe wearing by their children, and • parents failing to help children maintain proper foot hygiene. The intervention will revolve around promoting and supporting a series of messages intended to change attitudes and behaviors. Key messages include: • Shoes are a part of keeping children healthy and ensuring their success in life. • Proper foot hygiene is a part of keeping children healthy. • You/your children is/are at risk for podoconiosis. • Shoes protect from podoconiosis and other health problems. • Shoes should be worn at all times. • Shoes are a part of ordinary and proper dress. • Shoes can be obtained for very little expense (combined with educational information about acquiring shoes through the MFPTA). Specific intervention components are to be determined, but preliminary qualitative research suggests the following types of components have promise: • Training of lay helpers in delivery of key intervention messages, and providing lay helpers with materials to support messaging. • Promotion of a song about foot protection and shoes. • Delivery of radio-based messaging in the form of PSAs, songs, and dramatic stories. • Dissemination of posters in locations where behaviors are most important and salient (farming areas, playing areas, water fetching areas, etc.). • Education of community leaders through one-on-one efforts of MFTPA or other "experts." • Training of MFTPA worker to provide standardized oral education content, and providing MFTPA workers with materials to support discussion and demonstration The intervention aims to build on and develop the health promotion and education currently offered by the MFTPA during shoe distribution, so that the benefits of shoe wearing are maximized in this group of high risk children. The messages to be used will reinforce those already disseminated through MFTPA, yet the channels used will take them further into the community, increasing the impact the MFTPA has in prevention of disease and reduction of stigma. Planned Rapid Assessment Evaluation Activities: The specific objective of this requirement is to conduct a rapid assessment evaluation (RAE) of these initial intervention activities on site in the Wolaita zone, Ethiopia, beginning in spring, 2012. The REA is an approach commonly used in international health promotion to "test drive" intervention activities with the target audience in real time and gain insights from participants on changes that could increase the effectiveness of the intervention. The RAE activities will be conducted based on the approved protocol, 10-HG-N142 "Promoting Consistent Shoe Use among Children at Risk for Podoconiosis." The planned RAE will involve the following four (4) activities : (1) Assessment of the target audiences' responses to the mock-ups of posters, public service announcements (prepared for local radio stations), song lyrics and melody via focus groups and structured interviews. The target audience for this activity will include 6-10 individuals from various social groups, such as community/church leaders, recovered patients who are receiving vocational training from MFTPA, LHAs (MFTPA workers, local health workers and others who are associated with podoconiosis-related work), and natural helpers (individuals who already play a key role providing information in the community, church women's groups, lay leaders from a church/community); (2) Presenting a proposed set of training modules to Lay Health Advisors to assess whether key messages are understood and credible, and test length and engagement with the training activities; (3) Observation of local parents and lay health workers using the training materials in "quick educational sessions" conducted with volunteer model high risk families; and (4) Assessment of the feasibility of a "foot profile" assessment to gauge changes in foot condition before and after periods of shoe wearing among high risk children. Data will be collected from 170 children at the local school, and each child will be assessed by two (2) separate assessors. The contractor, along with the NIH research team, will conduct these activities in two of the original communities that participated in the qualitative data collection part (Phase 1) of the project. RAE activities will include about 30 individuals at each of the two sites. The target audiences we will be approaching include: parents of high risk children, farmers, local agricultural organization employees, MFTPA lay health workers, religious leaders, local disc jockeys, and high risk children. Upon completion of the REA, the contractor and the research team will convene while in the Wolaita zone to consider the need for adjustments in the intervention activities. A summary of changes will be prepared by the research team and presented to the MFTPA as well as a select group of members of the target audience to collect a second round of responses to proposed revisions in intervention approaches. The Contractor will provide scientific oversight on collection of qualitative data collection, and the development of culturally-tailored intervention approaches and materials. Expertise in the epidemiology of podoconiosis and experience in conducting qualitative research in the Wolaita region of Ethiopia continues to be essential to ensure the development of culturally appropriate intervention materials. In addition,extensive experience as a physician and epidemiologist who has lived and collaborated with the local communities and the Mossy Foot Treatment and Prevention Association is invaluable given the proposed intervention activities will take place in Wolaita, Ethiopia where research is being conducted. The Contractor's involvement will enable NHGRI to accomplish a more rigorously designed study that will greatly improve the likelihood that the results will be published in a high impact journal. Interested parties are expected to review this notice to familiarize yourself with the requirements of this project; failure to do so will be at your firm's own risk. Interested parties should submit a tailored capability statement for this requirement, not to exceed 20 single-sided pages (including all attachments, resumes, charts, etc.) presented in single-space and using a 12-point font size minimum, that clearly details the ability to perform the aspects of the notice described above and in the attached draft statement of work. All proprietary information should be marked as such. Statements should also include an indication of current business size status; this indication should be clearly marked on the first page of your capability statement. Responses will be reviewed only by NIH personnel and will be held in a confidential manner. All capability Statements sent in response to this SOURCES SOUGHT notice must be submitted electronically (via email) to Dorothy Maxwell, Contract Specialist, at maxwelld@mail.nih.gov in either MS Word or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), May 16, 2012 7:30 AM, EST. All responses must be received by the specified due date and time in order to be considered.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/HHS/NIH/NHLBI/NHLBI-CSB-(HG)-2012-129-DLM/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Ethiopia and Bethesda, MD, United States
- Record
- SN02737456-W 20120504/120502235919-ce1e373026b8b40ae2660cc0d27b9b4d (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
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