National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, PO Box 6495, Cincinnati, OH 45206

B -- SOURCES SOUGHT FOR AUDIOMETRIC DATE FOR NON-OCCUPATIONALLY NOISE OR CHEMICAL EXPOSED WORKERS FOR FISCAL YEARS 1999 AND 2000. DUE 072799 POC Jenny Bayer or Dwight Favors (513)533-8217 Sources Sought: During fiscal year 1998, NIOSH contracted with providers of mobile audiometric van testing services to provide audiometric test data on populations working in jobs without significant occupational noise exposure. These data are to be used in a research project "Factors Affecting Hearing Conservation Program (HCP) Effectiveness: A Pilot Study," to develop an industrial reference population for purposes of (a) comparing hearing levels from industrial noise-exposed workers enrolled in hearing conservation programs and (b) evaluating general hearing health and patterns of age-related hearing loss among contemporary working populations. The data sources for developing this reference population will be gathered from existing sources of industrial audiometry and are assumed to be routinely collected from health surveillance. Additional sources of audiometric data for non-occupationally noise or chemical exposed workers for the rest of the 1999 and 2000 fiscal years (through September, 2000). Acceptable sources shall be able to provide the following: 1) database(s) on 200 to 3000 workers with at least 3 years of longitudinal hearing conservation records that may be from one or more sites; and 2) database(s) will contain routinely collected audiometry and collateral information for workers who are not exposed to hazardous levels of noise at work. Collateral information includes data about medical conditions associated with hearing loss for which the worker has received medical treatment or received a medical diagnosis (cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, diabetes) or medications associated with hearing loss including from prior noisy job(s), noisy hobbies, or family history of hearing loss as well as information about smoking or potential ototoxic chemical exposure are also desirable. Demographic characteristics such as race, gender, data of birth (or age), geographic region, type of industry, and years worked in the industry must be available. Populations with more than 40% female and/orminority workers are highly desirable. This announcement is not a commitment to fund acquisition of hearing conservation audiometric databases, nor is it a invitation for bids, request for proposals or request for quotations. If your company is interested in providing the types of data NIOSH requires, you may request that your company be listed as a potential database source. When and if funds become available for purchasing such databases, your company will be contacted, asked to describe the data available and to provide a quote for providing the data in the format discussed above. NIOSH reserves the right to award multiple contracts and the right to negotiate each award separately based on the information the respondent has to provide. Posted 07/06/99 (W-SN350641). (0187)

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