SOLICITATION NOTICE
B -- Support for Activities Relating the Evaluation of an Integrated Participatory Surveillance System
- Notice Date
- 8/7/2012
- Notice Type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- NAICS
- 622110
— General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Procurement and Grants Office (Atlanta), 2920 Brandywine Road, Room 3000, Atlanta, Georgia, 30341-4146
- ZIP Code
- 30341-4146
- Solicitation Number
- 00HCVLJD-2012-48335
- Archive Date
- 8/15/2012
- Point of Contact
- Linda M Young, Phone: (770) 488-2655
- E-Mail Address
-
lml3@cdc.gov
(lml3@cdc.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention intends to issue a sole source purchase order to HealthMap, Children's Hospital Boston, 1 Autumn Street, Boston, MA 021115 for support for activities relating the evaluation of an integrated participatory surveillance system. Statement of Work is as follows: Background and Need - Traditional, healthcare-based, syndromic surveillance is the gold standard for disease surveillance because of its ability to identify clinical syndromes and link them to diagnostic testing. However, these systems are slow to turn around data, only capture a fraction of the disease that actually occurs, and are difficult to implement in many settings. Participatory, internet-based, syndromic surveillance systems are a relatively novel way to capture surveillance data. These systems send regular emails to self-registered participants who respond by reporting their weekly health status in brief, Web-based questionnaires accessible by computer or smart phone. They thus capture self-reported illness and, though lacking the ability to confirm diagnoses, offer an opportunity to dynamically monitor diseases in a population at almost real-time speed with minimal infrastructure requirements and cost. Combining a participatory surveillance system with a healthcare-based system offers the opportunity to gain the advantages of both. The benefits of an integrated system will be greatest in settings where multiple diseases present with similar syndromes, such as acute febrile illness. In Puerto Rico, influenza, dengue, and leptospirosis all are common causes of acute febrile illness. For this reason, the Puerto Rico Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Dengue Branch (CDC) operate a well-established surveillance system for dengue, with additional projects targeting influenza and leptospirosis. Meanwhile, HealthMap, a group based at the Boston Children's Hospital Informatics Program and Harvard School of Medicine, has developed a participatory surveillance system for influenza in the United States, "Flu Near You". They are currently using this platform to develop a participatory surveillance system for Puerto Rico that will capture symptoms associated with a greater variety of acute febrile illnesses, particularly dengue, influenza, and leptospirosis. This system will be the first participatory system to target multiple diseases and evaluation of it together with traditional healthcare based systems in Puerto Rico will elucidate the potential benefits it may provide. Project Objective - The potential benefits of an integrated surveillance system are described above. The objective of this study is to evaluate the feasibility and value in such a system. The contract will support activities critical to this evaluation. Scope of Work - The purchase order will provide support for coordination and development of this evaluation project. It will support the employment of an individual to coordinate CDC and vendor efforts and contribute substantially to the development of the project. The individual will be expected to take a leading role in coordinating the completion of the tasks listed below within a one-year timeframe. The contract also directly supports the development activities associated with this project, including the development of integrated survey and messaging mechanisms and improvements to the interface. Technical Requirements - Task 1: Interface development. Design and implement tools for communicating surveillance data to the public via the participatory surveillance web page and participant emails. This will require significant communication and coordination between CDC and the vendor to be managed by the incumbent. It is expected that this task will account for 30% of the contract and will result in an updated interface for the system incorporating surveillance data from the traditional surveillance system together with participatory system data. Task 2: Supplementary questionnaire development. Design and implement different types of questionnaires for participants. This will include research into other similar systems, pilot questionnaire design in close collaboration with partners, coordination and testing of the mechanisms to administer and collect data from these questionnaires, administration of the questionnaires, and the reporting of the resulting data. CDC will largely be responsible for developing the content of the questionnaires and will explicitly approve all questionnaires prior to implementation. It is expected that this task will account for 30% of the contract and will result in at least 2 surveys being implemented during the time frame of the contract. Task 3: Development of targeted messaging. Design and implement mechanisms to promote engagement in the participatory and health-care based surveillance systems. This will require collaboration with behavioral scientists at CDC and will include using the mechanisms from Tasks 1 and 2 to implement messaging and to monitor its potential effect. Messaging will be explicitly approved by CDC prior to implementation. It is expected that this task will account for 15% of the contract and will result in at least 1 messaging activity being implemented during the time frame of the contract. Task 4: Assessment of the potential for direct-linkage. Use the previous tasks to estimate potential overlap between the two systems. Review privacy and security concerns associated with joining data from the two systems. It is expected that this task will account for 15% of the contract and will result in a brief report prepared in collaboration with CDC including metrics of estimated overlap. Task 5: Assessment of ethical considerations. Prepare and submit documentation for CDC Institutional Review Board clearance or approval for all of the proposed activities. It is expected that this task will account for 10% of the contract and will result in a brief written assessment of the ethical guidelines for data collection and messaging in this medium. Reporting Schedule - The project coordinator will report weekly to the CDC COR either by email or telephone. Additional reports will be produced as described in the tasks above and the deliverables below, and will be completed with full collaboration from CDC. Special Considerations - Work on this contract will include significant contributions from CDC. Specifically, CDC Dengue Branch employees will support all content-related activity (providing content and feedback on content development), assist with IRB documentation and processing, assist with the determination of database linkage parameters for the CDC-based surveillance data, and provide expeditious review and written approval for all content. Furthermore, because the project involves coordination between the vendor and the CDC Dengue Branch, the purchase order should provide travel funds for two site visits. CDC will provide office space for the project coordinator when in Puerto Rico. Deliverables - Deliverables will be directed to the project officer. 1. Mandatory weekly report on progress for each task 2. A prototype interface for the web page within 3 months of contract initiation 3. IRB documentation for questionnaires within 3 months of contract initiation 4. Launch of the updated web page within 6 months of contract initiation 5. Site visit 1 within 6 months of contract initiation 6. First participant questionnaire designed, approved, and implemented within 6 months of contract initiation 7. First participant questionnaire results, one month after implementation 8. IRB documentation for messaging within 6 months of contract initiation 9. Participant messaging designed, approved, and implemented within 8 months of contract initiation 10. Second participant questionnaire designed, approved, and implemented at least 1 month before the end of the contract 11. Site visit 2 within last 2 months of contract 12. Second participant questionnaire results, no later than 1 week prior to the end of the contract 13. Report on potential overlap between the two systems, no later than 1 week prior to the end of the contract The vendor has proprietary technology and projects that uniquely fit the goals of the contract. It is the only known organization in the United States that has developed and implemented software and interfaces for participatory surveillance, which is the first designed to detect multiple diseases. The particular participatory system to be evaluated is being developed by HealthMap, using their proprietary platform. The version we will evaluate will be implemented in Puerto Rico where there are multiple etiologies of acute febrile illness. Puerto Rico has strong traditional surveillance systems with which to integrate this evaluation. Modification of the software is required to be able to implement novel functions, such as targeted surveys and messaging, directly in the system, so this particular vendor's knowledge of and access to the framework is crucial. Period of performance is approximately one year. CDC believes that this requirement is met by only one provider. This procurement will be processed under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b)(1). Only one responsible source and no other sources will satisfy agency requirements. No solicitation is being issued. Interested persons may use e-mail to identify their interest and capability to respond to this requirement before the expiration date of the advertisement. This procurement is not set-aside for small business. For contractual questions contact Linda M. Young.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/HHS/CDCP/PGOA/00HCVLJD-2012-48335/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: 1600 Clifton Road, Atlanta, Georgia, 30333, United States
- Zip Code: 30333
- Zip Code: 30333
- Record
- SN02830172-W 20120809/120808001015-b498b5e863e3ff9bd8a22660b73feecd (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
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