BALTIMORE LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF AGING (BLSA) HOME VISITS PROGRAM

The National Institute on Aging (NIA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) intends to re-compete requirements previously performed under NIA Contract No. HHSN260200700026C. This procurement is being competed under full and open competitive procedures using NAICS Code 541990 and FAR Part 15. It is anticipated that a single cost reimbursement type contract will be awarded for a one (1) year base period of performance beginning on or about September 15, 2013, with three (3) one year options. It is expected that a solicitation will be issued on or about December 21, 2012. The objective of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) Home Visits Program is limited to ongoing retention, re-contact and scheduling activities, and the conduct of BLSA home visits using the protocol and methodology developed and implemented over the last five years. The BLSA constitutes a continuous enrollment cohort where participants can join at any age after 20 years and are followed for life. Eligibility at time of enrollment is restricted to persons free of cognitive and functional limitations, chronic conditions and diseases and active cancer within the past 10 years. Participants receive regularly scheduled comprehensive health, cognitive and functional evaluations over a two to three day visit to the NIA IRP Clinical Unit at Harbor Hospital. Presently, visits occur every four years for persons under age 60, biannually for persons aged 60 to 79 years and annually for persons aged 80 and older. Extensive state-of-the-art evaluations are conducted to characterize the main aging phenotypes and sub-clinical and clinical diseases and include multiple measures of physical and cognitive function. These measures constitute a more comprehensive and robust assessment of health and physiologic status than any other epidemiologic study of aging. The primary objectives of this procurement are to: 1) maintain a complete and accurate database of participant contact information and visit and vital status, 2) retain, re-contact and schedule BLSA participants for their regular follow-up clinic visits, 3) conduct follow-up evaluations of BLSA participants who cannot come to Baltimore for their usual assessment using a home visit or telephone interview for those unavailable for a home visit, 4) provide critically important data on catastrophic health events, disability, cognitive impairment, dementia, frailty and other near end of life parameters, 5) improve coverage of study endpoints (e.g., frailty, disability and dementia) and accuracy of decline trajectory estimates by reducing the biasing effect of "informative censoring," 6) expand collection of biological samples to participants who have developed substantial comorbidity and disability; that is, are unable to attend a clinic visit. REPORTS/DELIVERABLES: (1) Project plan - This plan shall include: a) projected home and telephone only visits by contract year including participant location (local, regional or long distance), b) the manual of operations for the BLSA participant database, c) updated and revised home visit manual of operations, d) draft monthly progress report form and template and e) outline of issues requiring further discussion. (2) Monthly Progress report - This report minimally shall include the following: a) identifying information (i.e., contract number and title, period of performance being reported, Contractor's name and address, report author and submission date), b) the identification and visit numbers of participants contacted for a home visit and the outcome of that contact (e.g., scheduled, deceased, telephone only scheduled, refused), c) identification and visit number for each participant who received a home visit or telephone visit during the reporting period and visit type, whether an informant CDR was performed, autopsy program status (i.e., new enrollee, past enrollee, not interested), status of blood draw and status of EKG assessment and d) indication of any new or ongoing issues encountered that may impede progress and proposed corrective action. (3) Final report - A final report shall be submitted on or before the expiration date of contract. This report shall include a summation of all work performed under the contract and a compilation of the monthly progress report data on home and telephone visits completed. This report shall be in sufficient detail to describe comprehensively the numbers and types of evaluations performed. All responsible sources may submit a proposal which will be considered by the agency. This notice does not commit the Government to award a contract. No collect calls will be accepted. No facsimile transmissions will be accepted. This requirement was previously publicized under sources sought notice nos. HHS-NIH-NIDA(AG)-RDSS-12-169 and HHS-NIH-NIDA(AG)-SBSS-12-169.