National Inst. of Health,NCI/Purchase Support Contract Section, 6120 Executive Blvd., Rm. 638, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-7228

A -- PILOT COMMUNITY OURTREACH PROGRAM SOL NCI-RFQ-60131(NV) DUE 091896 POC Debbie Moore, Purchasing Agent, (301) 402-4509, or Trish Haun, Contracting Officer, (301) 402-4509. The National Cancer Institutes intends to enter into an agreement with the SPRY Foundation, Washington, D.C. to initiate a demonstration project which establishes a pilot community outreach program in Mongomery County, MD, to improve consumer access to credible health care information available on the Internet. The program compliments the NIH-wide effort to make its web sites user friendly and to make its data bases available free of charge to the public. Survey data indicates that certain segments of the populations, such as senior citizens, do not use the Internet because they do not know how to navigate it efficiently or use it to identify credible information. This program will determine if training increases awareness and use of health care information on the Internet and enables senior citizens to readily identify credible sources of health care information. The program is designed to lead to a community-based outreach strategy for increasing public access to health care information and if such access can be used for enlightened decision making about health care. The SPRY Foundation of Washington, DC a non-profit organization, operating under a joint venture with DELTA SQUARE ASSOCIATES, of Bethesda, MD and the Holiday Park Multiservices Senior Center of Wheaton MD has established relationships with several Montgomery County public and governmental institutions (e.g., AARP, NARFE, Wheaton Regional Public Library) whose participation and cooperation are critical to the initiation of this project. They also have extensive experience in the design, implementation and evaluation of training programs for senior citizens and extensive experience in the development of community-based outreach public education programs for senior citizens. In addition, the joint venture has extensive experience and working knowledge of the various NIH websites and databases. This is not a solicitation for competitive proposals. However, organizations who believe they have the necessary qualifications may submit a proposal to Debbie Moore, 6120 Executive Blvd., Rm. 638, Rockville, Md. 20892 no later than Sept. 18, 1996. The proposal must include a description of related activities, previous experience in working with communities, a knowledge of the needs of the senior citizens, an in-depth knowledge of the geographic area covered, and the ability to obtain the cooperation and participation of various community groups (local government and private) for inter-generational outreach programs. No collect calls will be accepted. See Note(s) 22 See Numbered Note(s): 22. (0239)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0003 19960827\A-0003.SOL)