Statistical Analysis Support Employment Research Project
The Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Bedford Healthcare System, has a requirement for a vendor to provide biostatistical analyses for a research project. The selected vendor has a proven record and the necessary expertise required for this type of project analyses.
A fixed price Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity contract with a performance period of 5 years is anticipated and shall be awarded.B It is the Government s belief that only the selected vendor, Dr. M. Siegel possesses the required capabilities to successfully meet this requirement.B It is the Government s intention to solicit and negotiate only with this source.B This is not a solicitation; it is notice of intent to sole source a requirement.
Inquiries/information received after the established deadline shall not be considered.B The submission of any data for review shall not impede award of this contract as planned.B The Government does not intend to pay for information.B This synopsis is issued pursuant to FAR 6.302-1.B
Intro
The vendor shall provide biostatistical and data informatics support to the VA Rehabilitation Research and Development funded research project, Key Elements: Motivational Interviewing for Supported Employment Entry and Outcome (RX001420-01A1), conductingB statistical analyses at the direction of the Principal Investigator, Dr. Nancy Wewiorski.B
Description
This two-year study will identify key ingredients of Motivational Interviewing (MI) that are associated with the action of taking a step toward entry into and utilization of Supported Employment (SE). Archival data will be analyzed from research sessions conducted with 79 veterans with serious mental illness (SMI) who were enrolled in the parent study, a vocational rehabilitation randomized controlled trial. At completion, the results will provide recommendations regarding the components of MI that should receive greatest emphasis when training clinicians who will use MI with veterans who have SMI and will suggest additional factors that may explain the current underutilization of SE services by veterans with SMI. For this study, 408 research sessions from 79 veterans with SMI will be coded as successful (a step was taken toward using supported employment services) or unsuccessful (no step was taken toward using supported employment services), which will serve as the study dependent variable. The 206 audiotaped MI sessions conducted with participants in the experimental condition of the parent study will be analyzed to identify which components of MI practice are most predictive of taking a step toward using SE. The independent variables will be: a) therapist behaviors (spirit of MI and MI technical proficiency); and b) client behaviors (intensity and frequency of change talk and counter change talk). In addition, transcribed sessions from 16 participants randomized to the MI condition and from 16 control participants will be analyzed using qualitative techniques to identify emergent patterns and themes that help explain differences between the veterans who took a step toward using SE over the course of six treatment sessions and those who did not.
Qualifications
The vendor shall have had previous experience in analyzing complex datasets with respect to access, utilization and outcomes of health services as well as expertise with translating data from this clinical trial into recommendations for consideration by leadership and into tools for direct service providers.
Specific Tasks
The vendor shall assist in making the proper choice of statistical procedures and interpretation of analyzed data that will be performed by theB principal investigator, Dr. Wewiorski.
The vendor shall also provide a written report of the results that will be analyzed by the principal investigator for inclusion in future publications. The vendor shall communicate activities both verbally and in writing to facilitate researchers translation of the results into useful tools for direct service providers and VA leadership.
Directed by Dr. Wewiorski, the vendor shall conduct the statistical analyses needed to evaluate the hypotheses under investigation (January 2018). Following review and analysis of the initial results by the PI and research team, decisions about needed follow-up analyses will be made. The vendor shall then conduct the requested follow-up analyses for the PI (April 2018).
It is estimated that the vendor shall work a maximum of 199 hours from September 2017 to July 2018.
Dr. Wewiorski will work with the COR, Brian Egan to closely monitor the available funds to ensure that the hours worked do not exceed the contract.B
Progress and ComplianceB
Directed by Dr. Wewiorski, The vendor shall complete the initial statistical analyses by January 30, 2018. Dr. Wewiorski will review the initial results for consistency with the hypotheses under consideration and with other members of the research team for analysis. Decisions about the next phase of follow-up analyses will be made by the research team. The vendor shall then complete the requested follow-up analyses by April 30, 2018. For each of phase of the project, including preparation of results/discussion for publication and dissemination to leadership and service providers, Dr. Wewiorski will review the vendor s progress and provide feedback on a monthly basis.
Training and Confidentially
The vendor shall complete the usual VA training requirements, e.g., Privacy and HIPPA, Info Security, Ethics, etc. There are no security issues as The vendor shall not have access to any identifying data about the participants, nor to CPRS medical records. The vendor shall utilize the Citrix Access Gateway to remotely access the VA system. This will allow for access of SPSS and study databases for completing the statistical analysis. All data will thus stay within VA firewall at all times. The study database is currently on a protected shared drive accessible only to the research team. The vendor shall be granted access to this shared drive upon successful completion of all training requirements for VA computer use. The vendor shall conduct analyses on data sets which will not include names, social security numbers, or any other identifiers.
EMAIL ONLY: NO PHONE CALLS ACCEPTED.
cheri.wicks@va.gov
Contracting Officer
