Inactive
Notice ID:75N95021R00012
The National Institute on Aging (NIA) is seeking to acquire the services of a contractor over a 5-year period to perform home-based medical evaluations of HANDLS participants who are unable to visit t...
The National Institute on Aging (NIA) is seeking to acquire the services of a contractor over a 5-year period to perform home-based medical evaluations of HANDLS participants who are unable to visit the Medical Research Vehicles (MRVs) for their follow-up medical evaluations. The purpose of this announcement is to provide a Presolicitation Notice for the release of Solicitation 75N95021R00012 (previously advertised in the Sources Sought Notice as HHS-NIH-NIDA-SBSS-000664. THIS IS A SYNOPSIS. THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION. Background: The National Institute on Aging (NIA) developed the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span (HANDLS) study to investigate whether race and Socioeconomic Status (SES) influence health status and age-related health disparities separately or synergistically based on several behavioral, psychosocial, and environmental factors. HANDLS is an ongoing prospective population-based interdisciplinary, longitudinal study initiated by the NIA in 2013 with an initial cohort of 3,720 individuals in Baltimore City, Maryland. The Government is seeking an additional follow-on contract so it can continue to this work by (1) testing participants who were not tested previously; (2) testing participants who became eligible for home visiting during the present home visit program; and (3) re-examining participants who remain eligible so that home-bound participants are included in longitudinal analyses. For continuity of longitudinal data, the Government requires continuing the same protocol it has used in previous contracts. The Government’s experience with this protocol has demonstrated it is a reasonable balance between minimizing participant burden and collecting data necessary to pursue its research interests. Purpose and Objectives: The purpose of this requirement is to acquire the services of a contractor over a 5-year period to perform home-based medical evaluations of HANDLS participants who are unable to visit the Medical Research Vehicles (MRVs) for their follow-up medical evaluations. Project Requirements: • The Contractor will perform home visit medical evaluations of all home-visit participants identified by the Government within a specified time frame. The Contractor will schedule biannual visits as well as create a detailed project plan with emphasis made to effectively track HANDLS participants, maximize participant participation, and minimize participant attrition. • The Contractor will develop a Project Plan including plans for recruiting HANDLS participants, a questionnaire for telephone screening interviews, a manual of operations, quality control plan, and other project plan related tasks. • Establish initial telephone or in-person contact with all home-visit participants to update contact information, confirm their current eligibility status, and their willingness to participate in the HANDLS Home Visit Study. • Maintain a Government-provided web-based appointment calendar system for home visits and schedule in-home examinations. • Obtain written informed consent for participation in the home visit study using the NIA Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved informed consent documents. • Perform in-home follow-up evaluations as outlined in the home-visit protocol provided by the NIA Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR). • Collect, process (in accordance with the home-visit protocol), prepare for delivery, and ship or deliver blood, urine and saliva samples for clinical chemistry assays, DNA extraction and storage of cells, serum, and plasma. • Maintain up-to-date data entry in a Government-provided website database with all tracking information and data collected. • Contact, recruit, and schedule home-visit participants. • Develop an electronic system for tracking and recording information collected during the telephone contact. • Develop a screening questionnaire. • Conduct the home visit protocol. • Collect of blood, saliva and urine samples from participants. • Prepare and distribute letters and reports to participants and primary care physicians as appropriate using Government-supplied on-site facilities. • Prepare for shipping, tracking and review of clinical laboratory data completed by clinical laboratory. • Delivery, processing and tracking of biological samples for NIA Intramural Research Program Bio-specimen repository and keeping record of samples processed in accordance with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) policies. • Provide emergency and resuscitative services to home-visit participants as needed. • Have employees available to work seven days (7) per week or as required by the approved protocol. • Prepare appropriate documents and financial control information to facilitate the Government’s participation compensation mechanism via debit card or other means furnished by the NIA COR. • Develop a plan for secure storage and electronic transfer of all data. • Replication, dissemination or use of results from the study. Anticipated period of performance: Base period of twelve months and four 12-month option periods beginning on/about December 19, 2021, in accordance with availability of NIH appropriations. This is not a Request for Proposal (RFP) and the Government is not committed to award a contract pursuant to this announcement. This advertisement does not commit the Government to award a contract. The RFP will be available on the beta.SAM.gov Web page at http://beta.sam.gov. Prospective offerors are responsible for downloading the RFP and all attachments. The offeror is responsible for monitoring the beta.SAM.gov Web page for the release of the solicitation and any amendments. The RFP will be available from the beta.SAM.gov on or about February 23, 2021.
