MODIFICATION
B -- Telephone Surveys in Puerto Rico
- Notice Date
- 5/12/2006
- Notice Type
- Modification
- NAICS
- 541990
— All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Procurement and Grants Office (Atlanta), 2920 Brandywine Road, Room 3000, Atlanta, GA, 30341-4146
- ZIP Code
- 30341-4146
- Solicitation Number
- Reference-Number-2006-Q-31762
- Response Due
- 5/23/2006
- Archive Date
- 6/2/2006
- Description
- This notice is a combined synopsis/solicitation for professional, scientific, and technical services prepared in accordance with the FAR Part 13.105. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. The procurement and solicitation are being issued as a Request for Quotation (RFQ)with the following solicitation number 2006-Q-31762 amendment. The solicitation documents, incorporated provisions, and clauses in effect through the Federal Action Circular2005-04, dated June 8, 2005 are hereby incorporated in this RFQ. This acquisition will be processed under Simplified Acquisition Procedures and is not a Small Business Set-Aside. The North American Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 541990. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has a requirement for a vendor to conduct telephone interviews in Puerto Rico with adult persons from a list provided by the Dengue Branch and from controls matched by municipality of residence and selected by random digit telephone dialing. The telephone interviews will collect information regarding symptoms experiences during the convalescent phase of a dengue infection. A questionnaire will be provided to the vendor by the Dengue Branch. The vendor is preferred to be from Puerto Rico; see ?Minimum vendor qualifications.? BACKGROUND AND PROJECT OVERVIEW: Dengue is a vector-borne febrile disease of the tropics transmitted most often by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. Symptoms of the acute disease include fever, headache, rash, retro-orbital pain, myalgias, arthralgias, vomiting, abdominal pain and hemorrhagic manifestations. Many symptoms are mentioned in the medical literature as associated with the convalescent period (3-8 weeks) after dengue infection, including depression, dementia, loss of sensation, paralysis of lower and upper extremities and larynx, epilepsy, tremors, manic psychosis, amnesia, loss of visual acuity, hair loss, and peeling of skin. No epidemiologic study has been conducted to define the timing, frequency, and risk factors for these symptoms. The objective of this study is to examine the incidence and characteristics of mental health disorders and other delayed complications associated with dengue infection and convalescence. The study will be conducted in Puerto Rico, where dengue is endemic and causes severe sporadic epidemics. PURPOSE OF WORK: The purpose of this procurement is to acquire information on the symptoms experienced by dengue cases as a result of their illness. The same information will be gathered from two control groups. The study will utilize a questionnaire that will be developed and provided by CDC investigators. The vendor will administer phone interviews with the cases and with controls. SCOPE OF WORK: The vendor shall provide all labor, equipment and supplies necessary to conduct two separate sets of telephone interviews. The sample size for the first set is expected to be approximately 600 persons; the second set will involve re-contacting persons from the first survey. All persons will be identified according to criteria established by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) investigators. CDC will provide the list of persons and phone numbers for 400 persons in the study; vendor will randomly digit dail 200 persons. The vendor shall be responsible for random digit dialing a selection of 200 controls individually matched by town to 200 persons identified by CDC investigators as requiring controlled matching by municipality. The Government will provide guidance on the method to be used for random digit dialing. The vendor will provide references of the method used for random digit dialing. The vendor shall agree to include in the training of interviews a four-hour training session with the CDC principal investigators (PIs) to insure understanding of all details of the questions in the questionnaire and guidelines for the protection of confidentiality of all persons interviewed. Special care shall be taken to protect human subjects? confidentiality as specified by written instructions from CDC. The vendor shall send the first 10 completed questionnaires to the CDC Technical Contact within one week of initiation of the interviews. No further interviews shall be conducted without written approval by the CDC principal investigator. If, upon completion of the first 10 questionnaires, CDC investigators decide to make changes to the questionnaire or to change the method of interviewing, the vendor shall be notified within five business days about the changes and the period of performance will be adjusted accordingly. It is expected that this requirement of the study will involve minor modifications to the period of performance under this purchase order. The vendor shall be responsible for entering data in a database. The database structure will be decided by CDC investigators with input from the vendor, using Access or similar Software. Completed survey forms will be returned by the vendor to CDC in the format produced by the database, in printed, and electronic versions. TASKS: The vendor shall conduct the following tasks associated with the requirements under this purchase order. 1. The vendor shall provide a list of participating staff involved in the tasks outlined in the Statement of Work. 2. The vendor shall provide a schedule of all proposed training sessions for staff participating in the telephone surveys. 3. The vendor?s training for interviewers shall include a 4-hour Training Session provided by the CDC Investigators prior to the actual start of the telephone survey. 4. The vendor shall provide timely reports and prompt responses (within 24 hours) to queries from the CDC Dengue Branch by telephone or e-mail. 5. The vendor shall submit an electronic weekly report formatted in Excel to the Dengue Branch in both printed and electronic forms. The report will include a list of persons contacted; those contacted that didn?t agree to participate; persons who participated in the survey; persons pending contact; and dates and number of attempts to contact a person on the list of contacts. The Vendor shall also report on the status of the project implementation and any other problems or difficulties encountered. 6. The vendor shall deliver in electronic and hard copy complete interviews and refusals (that is, incomplete interviews) of persons included in the weekly list. 7. The Vendor shall develop and submit an electronic and hard copy printed monthly summary report formatted in Excel to the Dengue Branch. The report shall include accumulated data collected from the weekly survey reports, status of project implementation, and updates on problems encountered and solutions taken. Monthly reports shall be submitted within seven (7) working days after conclusion of the month reported. DELIVERABLES: The vendor shall provide the following deliverables on the scheduled date set out as follows: DELIVERABLES SCHEDULED DATE: A list of proposed participating staff who conduct the tasks associated with the study in accordance with the SOW. Within 10 business days of contract award. Proposed training schedule for participating interviewers Within 10 business days of contract award. Training and certification requirements of staff employed to conduct the survey and interviews. Within 15 business days of contract award. First set of completed interviews Within 30 calendar days of contract award. Completed interviews (printed and electronic forms) Within 7 working days from completion Incomplete interviews(person refused to participate in study) Within 7 working days from interview end Weekly Summary Report Tuesday following summarized week Monthly Summary Report Within 7 working days after the end of the month PAYMENT TERMS Payments under this purchase order will be monitored by the Technical Representative. It is expected that payment will be provided monthly as per the scheduled deliverables set out in the purchase order. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE The expected periods of performance for the two parts of the survey are as follows: First part: Date of award through some many months, depending on the dengue activity level and therefore the rate at which cases accrue. Second part: All subjects contacted in the first survey should be re-contacted three months after the initial interview. GOVERNMENT PROVIDED MATERIAL/EQUIPMENT: The Government shall provide the Vendor with the following documents/materials and resources. The documents will be available within seven (7) days after the initial start of each Phase of the study. 1. Questionnaire 2. List of potential respondents and their telephone number (to obtain 400 of total 600 participants) MINIMUM VENDOR QUALIFICATIONS The vendor shall employ interviewers based in Puerto Rico. The interviewers shall possess similar cultural and language backgrounds as those being interviewed. Similarity in these areas will promote a sense of trust and acceptability of the interview. Additionally, it is in the best interest of the study to provide interviewers who are familiar with the language and customs thereby reducing training costs associated with the study. The vendor shall have demonstrated skills in telephone surveys, random digit dialing, and experienced in database compilation. The vendor shall relinquish any rights to information obtained from the surveys. Information obtained is strictly for CDC use. This is a full and open competition. Interested parties who feel that that they possess the capabilities to perform the services described above, should provide a capabilities statement demonstrating their qualifications, experience, equipment and ability to perform the requirements. Award will be made to the technically acceptable lowest price. Quotation will be due no later than close of business May 23, 2006. All vendors must be registered in the Central Contractor Registry (CCR) prior to award of a Federal Contract. Vendors may be register at www.ccr.gov . The vendor shall relinquish any rights to information obtained from the surveys. The information received in response to this notice will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether or not to conduct a competitive procurement. Please send your documentation to Ronnie Francis by e-mail to efi8@cdc.gov or by fax (770) 488-2688 . A determination by the CDC not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within discretion of the government.
- Place of Performance
- Address: Puerto Rico
- Country: US
- Country: US
- Record
- SN01047030-W 20060514/060512220351 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
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