DRAFT_SOW for Sources Sought 7-7-2020_WES.pdf

DRAFT Statement of Work

Title: National HIV Behavioral Surveillance among Women who Exchange Sex (NHBS-WES) Consultation

SECTION 1 – BACKGROUND

For almost 40 years, HIV has been affecting millions globally. According to CDC, by the end of 2016 an estimated 1.1 million persons aged 13 years and older were living with HIV infection in the U.S. with an estimated 40,000 new infections each year. The burden of HIV infection is disproportionately concentrated among a few high-risk populations. The National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (NHBS) system is the nation’s only source of national bio-behavioral data monitoring HIV-related behaviors among populations at high-risk for HIV infection.

Monitoring key indicators among members of high-risk populations is critical to achieving the goals of the Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America initiative and CDC’s High Impact Prevention (HIP) approach. NHBS has previously proven effective at monitoring key indicators such as risk behaviors, HIV testing and linkage to care, access to and use of prevention interventions, and prevalence of HIV and other infections.

Globally, people who exchange or trade sex for money or drugs are at increased risk of HIV infection. In the United States, data to inform HIV prevention efforts for this population are limited and community partners have called for inclusion of people who exchange sex in the collection of data, such as national HIV prevention surveys. To address this gap, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted an evaluation of NHBS among women who exchange sex (WES) in five cities in 2016. The NHBS-WES evaluation suggested a need for ongoing bio-behavioral surveillance among WES due to an HIV prevalence 3.1 times higher among WES compared to the general population of low-income women who did not exchange sex in these five cities enrolled in NHBS in 2013. The evaluation of NHBS-WES also found that it is feasible to recruit a large sample of WES through a sampling strategy known as respondent driven sampling (RDS) with some modifications. However, there were limitations to the bio-behavioral information collected among WES during the evaluation compared to what has been collected in other countries among WES. As a result, CDC plans to implement a more comprehensive cycle of the NHBS-WES. To do this, consultation is needed from community and academic experts who have experience with RDS methodologies and who work directly with WES on how to better engage WES in HIV bio-behavioral surveillance, as well as what topics are most critical for surveillance among WES.

SECTION 2 – PURPOSE

The purpose of this acquisition is to support CDC’s ability to successfully prepare for NHBS- WES through consultation from an expert(s) in research and recruitment using RDS among women who exchange sex.

SECTION 3 – SCOPE OF WORK

The Contractor shall provide consultation and technical expertise to inform NHBS-WES project materials and recruitment guidance, such as the Operations Manual and Interviewer Guide. The Contractor shall also engage stakeholders in the field of exchange sex to obtain additional input on NHBS-WES recruitment materials. The Contractor may require travel to involve stakeholders and obtain necessary feedback if virtual engagement is not possible.

SECTION 4 – TASKS TO BE PERFORMED

The Contractor shall, as an independent organization and not as an agent of the Government, furnish all necessary services, qualified personnel, material, equipment, and facilities to perform the following contract requirements:

Task 1: Review and provide comments on NHBS-WES protocol.

The Contractor shall review and provide feedback on the CDC-drafted NHBS-WES protocol. No more than 200 pages to be reviewed.

Task 2: Review and provide comments on NHBS-WES questionnaire.

The Contractor shall review and provide feedback on the CDC-drafted NHBS-WES questionnaire. No more than 150 pages to be reviewed.

Task 3: Review and provide comments on project materials.

The Contractor shall review and provide feedback on CDC-drafted guidance documents for NHBS-WES such as the Formative Assessment Guide, Operations Manual, and Interviewer Guide. No more than 150 pages of documents to be reviewed.

Task 4: Develop cultural competency training

The Contractor shall develop and record a cultural competency training to be disseminated by CDC to recipients funded to implement NHBS-WES. The training will focus on both appropriate guidelines of interacting with WES as NHBS participants, recruiting WES participants and more broadly working with this vulnerable population. The training will be no longer than 1 hour in length and will be delivered via recorded webinar. Slides from the training will be made available to CDC to disseminate to CDC recipients after the webinar.

Task 5: Prepare for WES listening session

The Contractor shall meet via a web-based meeting with NHBS staff and the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) within 1 week of award of the contract to plan the agenda and other meeting materials for the listening session of WES stakeholders to be held at the 13th National Harm Reduction Conference (tentatively October 2021). The purpose of the listening session is to identify ideal approaches to engage WES in surveillance, to recruit WES via RDS and to identify appropriate health topics for inclusion in the NHBS-WES questionnaire. The Contractor shall draft the listening session agenda and provide feedback on the question guide for the session.

Task 6: Co-facilitate WES listening session

The Contractor shall co-facilitate with NHBS staff the listening session of WES stakeholders to be held at the Harm Reduction Conference. After the listening session, the Contractor shall meet with NHBS staff to debrief and discuss findings from the WES listening session and identify main themes that emerged during the discussion.