Notice ID: 2022-60918
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention intends to award a sole source firm fixed price purchase order to Comeau Associates for CATI Software Trouble Shooting and User-Training…”
“Since 1984, the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) has provided financial support through cooperative agreements to State Health Departments to collect health-related behavioral risk factor information on adult populations. The Population Health Surveillance Branch (PHSB) has 54 cooperative agreements with State Health Departments. The mode of data collection is a random digit dialed telephone survey. The “state-of-the-art” in telephone survey data collection methodology is computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI). CATI programs (telephone interview programs and upgrades) save valuable person-hours on the telephone and save significant time cleaning and processing data. CATI programs significantly reduce errors in telephone interviewing compared to paper-and-pencil administration.”
“Several CATI software systems are available to the State Health Departments for data collection. Most States have adopted WinCATI software developed by Sawtooth Technologies, a computer software developer. The BRFSS provides financial support to State Health Departments to upgrade WinCATI software or maintain WinCATI applications in order to maintain continuity in data collection, improve data quality measures, and provide control of sample management. Effective consistent data collection is important to the quality and credibility of the BRFSS data collected each month. The data collection process is conducted through each State Health Department. Interviewing respondents by telephone has become increasingly difficult. Training of new interviewers, upgrades to CATI systems, mailing lead letters prior to the calling period, and CATI questionnaire programming to assign appropriate disposition codes are just a few of the actions which must be addressed on an annual basis to maintain consistent data collection of the BRFSS. Other steps to improve data quality include monitoring of interviewers, improved screening of the sample, real-time checks for data inconsistencies during interviewing, and review and analysis of the daily reports on the sample activity.”
“Comeau Associates is the author of programs and procedures that customize the Ci3 and Sensus questionnaire programs for use with WinCATI software code and perform tasks essential to BRFSS survey purposes. The development of the programs using proprietary information from the WinCATI software has enabled survey supervisors to better manage the sample, interviewer monitoring, and appropriate coding of dispositions; install updates to the CATI questionnaire; and prepare, review and analyze daily reports on the sample activity. The successful implementation of the programs from Comeau Associates has improved the stability and quality of data collection in twenty-nine of the states and territories conducting the BRFSS…”
“The vendor shall perform the following tasks to maintain continuity of the existing BRFSS data collection:
- Write and provide a supervisors handbook for using WinCATI to collect data for the BRFSS in the current data collection year, incorporating feedback generated by the Population Health Surveillance Branch and state BRFSS data collectors during review of the manual.
- Develop various software updates/upgrades to implement changes to the current Ci3 or Sensus questionnaire used to conduct the BRFSS.
- Provide instruction and troubleshooting by telephone and email for maintaining continuous monthly BRFSS data collection for data collectors using WinCATI…
- Develop software to read the proprietary format of the WinCATI sample data base to produce a series of reports tracking interviewer performance, sample management, missed appointments, and other reports identified as needed by data collectors and the project officer.
- Site visits to conduct training for a new BRFSS coordinator or new survey supervisor in the State Health Department using Ci3 or Sensus for WinCATI for data collection as directed by the project officer…”
