Office on Women’s Health for Midlife through Menopause Mortality and Morbidity Reduction Initiative

Purpose of Notice

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Office of Mission Acquisition Solutions (OMAS), Office on Women’s Health (OWH), seeks to identify qualified organizations capable of accessing a national inpatient and outpatient database to conduct ongoing longitudinal statistical analyses and to establish and manage healthcare-related quality improvement learning collaboratives to support measurement of the impact of evidence-based interventions on outcomes for midlife and menopausal women.

This Sources Sought Notice is intended to assess the availability and interest of potential small businesses with expertise in women’s health, data analysis, clinical implementation, health systems engagement, development and implementation of large quality improvement collaboratives, and evaluation of interventions involving breast cancer screening and reduction of UTI-related outcomes through vaginal estrogen therapy. This work requires access to large, nationally representative inpatient and outpatient data sets.

This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the availability and capability of qualified small business sources; (2) whether they are small businesses; HUBZone small businesses; service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; woman-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged businesses; and (3) their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. An organization that is not considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice.

The purpose of this Sources Sought Notice is to identify capable sources and obtain industry input on the feasibility, scope, sequencing, data requirements, implementation approach, risks, and acquisition structure for the contemplated initiative.

The aim of this initiative is to promote healthy aging and wellness and to reduce morbidity and mortality among midlife and menopausal women by strengthening breast cancer screening and early detection and preventing complications associated with recurrent urinary tract infections.

Responses should help HHS determine:

• Whether capable small business sources exist for the combined requirement, for either workstream separately, or for defined portions of a workstream.
• The availability, validity, timeliness, and licensing constraints of national or nationally generalizable inpatient and outpatient data needed for the contemplated analyses.
• Whether available data can validly identify the midlife and menopausal target population, breast screening modality and purpose, recurrent UTI, clinically appropriate vaginal estrogen use, sepsis, hospitalization, and mortality.
• The feasible size, composition, recruitment timeline, data burden, and operating model for the contemplated health care quality improvement learning collaboratives.
• Appropriate contract structure, period of performance, contract type, contract vehicle, data licensing model, and Government-furnished resources.
• Potential barriers to competition, including data ownership, licensing restrictions, proprietary analytic platforms, conflicts of interest, site recruitment dependencies, and specialized clinical expertise.

The following section describes the program objectives and scope for which HHS seeks industry feedback.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The contemplated initiative would integrate national longitudinal data analysis with multi-site quality-improvement learning collaboratives to strengthen evidence-based care and improve outcomes for women in midlife and through the menopausal transition. HHS is considering two distinct workstreams:

• Workstream 1 - Breast Cancer Screening and Diagnostic Follow-up: improve appropriate screening, access, modality selection, follow-up after abnormal findings, diagnostic resolution, and early cancer identification.
• Workstream 2 - Recurrent Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) and Severe Outcome Reduction: improve evidence-based prevention and management of recurrent UTI, including appropriate use of vaginal estrogen among clinically eligible peri- and postmenopausal patients, and evaluate recurrent infection, acute care use, sepsis, hospitalization, and mortality.

The final scope, sequence, measures, data requirements, and acquisition structure may be refined based on market research responses.

BACKGROUND

Breast Cancer Screening and Diagnostic Follow-up

Breast cancer risk generally increases with age. Mammography is the principal population-based screening modality, while other imaging may be used based on individual risk, breast density, prior findings, symptoms, and clinical judgment. The contemplated work would examine utilization and outcomes across digital mammography and breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) when supported by available data. Analyses should distinguish screening, supplemental screening, diagnostic evaluation, and surveillance and should assess timely follow-up and diagnostic resolution after abnormal findings.

Because screening recommendations differ by population and risk profile, and evidence gaps remain for some supplemental imaging strategies, HHS intends to identify the applicable guideline set, target population, and measure specifications in any future solicitation.

Recurrent UTI and Severe Outcomes

Recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common and burdensome among peri- and postmenopausal women. Inaccurate diagnosis and unnecessary treatment can increase antibiotic exposure, while recurrent or systemic infection may lead to emergency department use, hospitalization, sepsis, intensive care, and other adverse outcomes. Vaginal estrogen is an evidence-based preventive option for clinically appropriate peri- and postmenopausal patients with recurrent UTI when no contraindication exists and after clinician-patient shared decision-making.

The contemplated work would assess national care patterns, implementation barriers, recurrence, treatment and prevention strategies, acute care use, and downstream outcomes. Analytic plans should distinguish association from causation, address confounding and selection bias, and describe the validity and limitations of data-derived clinical definitions.

PROGRAM GOALS AND ANTICPATED SCOPE
 

1. Cross-Cutting
   • Conduct comprehensive analysis utilizing large nationally representative database(s) containing inpatient, outpatient, laboratory, radiology, and pharmacy health data relevant to both workstreams.
   • Assess care and outcome variation by age, menopausal status, race and ethnicity, geography, rurality, payer, and other relevant population characteristics.
   • Establish and operate large scale quality improvement learning collaboratives to identify, test, refine, and scale reliable practices and implementation strategies.
   • Build a national evidence base on care patterns, outcomes, and opportunities for improvement during midlife and the menopause transition.
   • Translate evidence into scalable clinical and operational practices through learning collaboratives, quality improvement, implementation support, and stakeholder engagement.
   • Produce actionable findings that can inform HHS policy, program development, provider education, public health initiatives, and future research or evaluation activities.

1. Workstream 1: Improve Breast Cancer Screening and Detection
   • Improve breast cancer screening and detection and reduce associated mortality and morbidity among women.
   • Analyze utilization, patterns, and outcomes for mammography, MRI, and related diagnostic services when feasible.
   • Distinguish screening, supplemental screening, diagnostic evaluation, surveillance, patient risk, breast density, and reason for service to the extent supported by the data.
   • Assess receipt of screening consistent with HHS-specified recommendations, access to screening, follow-up after abnormal findings, time to diagnostic resolution, cancer identification, stage or severity at diagnosis, and downstream outcomes.
   • Develop or configure a standardized data model, measure set, data collection approach, dashboard, and reporting process for participating organizations while minimizing local data collection burden.
   • Identify, test, refine, and scale interventions such as patient outreach, risk assessment, navigation, scheduling, referral management, data exchange, and closed-loop follow-up.
   • Provide feasible pathways for improving screening access, appropriate modality selection, diagnostic resolution, and early cancer identification.

1. Workstream 2: UTI and Sepsis Reduction

• Reduce adverse outcomes, including recurrent infection, emergency department use, hospital admission, sepsis, intensive care utilization, and mortality, among midlife and menopausal women at risk for UTIs or experiencing recurrent UTIs
• Conduct national longitudinal analyses to characterize UTI burden, recurrence, diagnostic and treatment patterns, prevention strategies, vaginal estrogen utilization, complications, emergency department use, hospitalization, sepsis, intensive care use, and mortality.
• Develop and validate operational definitions for recurrent UTI, localized versus systemic infection, clinically eligible populations, vaginal estrogen exposure, contraindications or exclusions when observable, and relevant outcomes.
• Advance evidence-based interventions, care pathways, appropriate vaginal estrogen use, patient and provider education, referrals, and follow-up.
• Assess variation in access, prescribing, treatment, and outcomes and identify strategies to improve reliable implementation.
• Develop and disseminate implementation tools, provider education, patient-facing materials, and policy-relevant findings.

RESPONSE INFORMATION

HUB ZONE SMALL BUSINESSES, 8(A) FIRMS AND SMALL BUSINESS FIRMS ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO SUBMIT CAPABILITY STATEMENTS.  THE CAPABILITY STATEMENT MUST CLEARLY DEMONSTRATE THE FIRM’S CAPABILITY AND EXPERIENCE IN PROVIDING THE SERVICES DESCRIBED ABOVE.

Interested firms should demonstrate their professional and technical skills, relevant experience, and ability to perform the following tasks:

• Current, documented access to national or nationally generalizable inpatient, outpatient, laboratory, radiology, and pharmacy health data relevant to both workstreams.
• Ability to access, manage, and protect proprietary and sensitive data, and provide transparent data and intellectual property terms.
• Relevant Federal past performance or comparable large, complex public health, payer, health system, and multi-site clinical quality improvement experience.
• Link or integrate claims, electronic health record, registry, pharmacy, laboratory, imaging, and mortality or vital status data, as applicable.
• Expertise in women's health across midlife and menopause and in the clinical domains addressed by the proposed workstreams.
• Designing and operating multi-site health care learning collaboratives, learning health system initiatives, implementation research, or large-scale quality improvement programs.
• Recruiting and retaining diverse health care organizations and minimizing data collection burden through interoperability, automated extraction, or standardized workflows.
• Advanced epidemiology, biostatistics, causal inference, risk adjustment, health services research, implementation science, qualitative research, and program evaluation capability.
• Capability to build or configure secure data collection, analytics, dashboard, and reporting solutions and to meet applicable Federal privacy, security, records, and accessibility requirements.
• Translate complex evidence into policy recommendations, implementation tools, provider education, patient-facing materials, and public health products.
  • Provide publication and dissemination support to include:

• Conducting data analyses to support peer-reviewed publications, reports, and other dissemination products.
• Translating findings into practical implementation guidance and communication products.
• Developing educational materials for clinicians, healthcare systems, patients, caregivers, and the public. 
• Drafting and supporting the development of manuscripts, white papers, briefs, and technical reports.

Respondents should indicate which of the following capabilities are core organizational capabilities and which are provided through partnerships or subcontractors.

INSTRUCTIONS TO INDUSTRY

INTERESTED SOURCES POSSESSING THE CAPABILITIES TO MEET THE ABOVE REQUIREMENTS SHOULD SUBMIT A COVER LETTER ALONG WITH A CAPABILITY STATEMENT FONT SIZE TIMES NEW ROMAN 11 OR LARGER) DEMONSTRATING ABILITY TO PERFORM AND SHOULD INCLUDE AN OUTLINE OF PREVIOUS OR SIMILAR PROJECTS SO THAT THE GOVERNMENT CAN PERFORM A PROPER EVALUATION OF THE COMPANY’S CAPABILITY.  THE STATEMENT SHOULD ALSO INCLUDE AN INDICATION OF CERTIFIED SMALL BUSINESS STATUS; THIS INDICATION SHOULD BE CLEARLY MARKED ON THE FIRST PAGE OF THE CAPABILITY STATEMENT.

This notice is for planning only. This notice does not oblige the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. Respondents will not be notified of the results of this evaluation.  Capability statements will not be returned or accepted after the due date.  After reviewing the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.

No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).

Interested small businesses are encouraged to respond to this notice. However, firms should understand that generic capability statements are insufficient for effectively evaluating their capacity and capability to perform the required work. Responses must directly demonstrate the company’s capability, experience, and ability to marshal resources to effectively and efficiently perform the objectives described above.

The written response to this notice should consist of the following items:

a.   Company Name.

b.   Company DUNS number.

c.   Company point of contact, mailing address, telephone, and fax
      numbers, and website address

d.   Name, telephone number, and e-mail address of a company point of contact

      who has the authority and knowledge to clarify responses with government representatives

e.   Date submitted.

f.    Applicable company GSA Schedule number or other available procurement vehicle.

g.   Do you have a government-approved accounting system?  If so,
      please identify the agency that approved the system.

h.   Type of Company (i.e., small business, 8(a), woman owned,
      veteran owned, etc.) as validated via the System for Award Management 
      (SAM). All respondents must register on the SAM located at  
       https://www.sam.gov

Responses must be submitted not later than August 17, 2026. Capability statements will not be returned and will not be accepted after the due date.  The maximum number of pages for submission is 5 pages.

As previously stated, the Government will not entertain questions regarding this Market Research; however, general questions may be forwarded to the following:

Contracting Officer: Anne Mineweaser

Email Address: anne.mineweaser@hhs.gov