Notice of Sole Source 75D301-21-Q-73543

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a debilitating, multi-system, long-term illness that is heterogenic in its symptoms and appearance. While it affects women more than men, it occurs in all racial and ethnic groups. According to the 2015 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, about 836,000 to 2.5 million Americans suffer from ME/CFS. However, about 90 percent of people with ME/CFS have not been diagnosed, which delays treatment. This may forestall educational attainment, interfere with employment, and result in disability. Taking together, ME/CFS accounts for $18–51 billion of economic costs including $9–14 billion in medical costs and $9–37 billion in lost productivity annually. Patients with ME/CFS suffer from worse functional impairment compared to cancer, diabetes, heart disease, lung disease, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis. The purpose of this contract is to expand the work under Contract #75D30119P05449 for providing CDC with expert scientific services necessary to apply evidence-based education and behavioral theory to practice-based provider educational activities within the ME/CFS program. The contractor will advise and assist the program in the development and evaluation of ME/CFS provider education and outreach projects to meet objectives in the logic model of the ME/CFS program. In particular, the contractor will support and evaluate strategies for addressing the education need of reducing health inequality/disparity in ME/CFS for providers and patients; prioritize ME/CFS education in healthcare settings; assist in research and development of behavioral and educational methods for ME/CFS and other post-infectious illnesses as they may relate to ME/CFS, support stakeholder engagement activities, and assist in manuscript formulation and interpretation of social and behavioral science data in ME/CFS.