US Peace Corps

Office of Health Services

STATEMENT OF WORK (SOW)
Office of Health Services (OHS) Counseling and Outreach Unit (COU)
Online Mental Health Medical Journal Database Provider
I.

Background
The Peace Corps traces its roots and mission to 1960, when then Senator John
F. Kennedy challenged students at the University of Michigan to serve their
country in the cause of peace by living and working in developing countries.
From that inspiration grew an agency of the federal government devoted to world
peace and friendship.
Since that time, over 200,000 Peace Corps Volunteers have served in 140 host
countries to work on issues ranging from AIDS education to information
technology and environmental preservation.
The Peace Corps' mission has three simple goals:
1. Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained
men and women.
2. Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the
peoples served.
3. Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of
Americans.
Today's Peace Corps is more vital than ever, working in emerging and essential
areas such as information technology and business development, and
committing more than 1,000 new Volunteers as a part of the President's
Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. Peace Corps Volunteers continue to help
countless individuals who want to build a better life for themselves, their children,
and their communities.
In order to meet its mission, the Peace Corps provides medical support to
volunteers. The Office of Health Services (OHS) is responsible for oversight and
coordination of care. The Counseling & Outreach Unit (COU), within the OHS,
works to support the emotional resiliency and well-being of Volunteers and Staff
so that they complete the longest productive service possible. COU is seeking an
online medical journal database to provide its staff with appropriate and up to
date resources for clinical care and training purposes.

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US Peace Corps
Office of Health Services
II.

Objectives
Due to the nature of the work of the Office of Health Services, primarily its Office
of Medical Services (OMS) and the Counseling and Outreach Unit (COU), it is
critical that the offices licensed mental health clinicians have access to the most
up to date psychological and mental health journals for the clinical care of
Volunteers and for staff training purposes. Clinicians in COU manage a wide
variety of mental health concerns in terms of type and severity and are often
called upon to provide training on mental health concerns to other interested
colleagues within Peace Corps (including medical professionals and
administrative staff); therefore it is vital that the COU clinicians are prepared and
up to date on the latest research and findings so they can best aid the
volunteers.
The purpose of this acquisition is to ensure that the licensed mental health
clinicians at headquarters and throughout Peace Corps regions will continue to
have access to an electronic database containing mental health and psychology
content, research, and frequently updated peer review information in areas that
specifically affect Volunteer mental health and well-being.
The Office of Health Services aims to provide its licensed mental health clinicians
with a database providing the following:
1. Database provides full journal article access (as opposed to services
providing only individual access to abstracts or partial articles).
2. The content of the articles provided in the database is directly related to
the international mental health needs of the Peace Corps; journal articles
are specific to mental health and psychology.
a. Target audience for the journal articles is mental health clinicians
not patients.
b. Journals and articles provided undergo a meticulous peer-reviewed
process.
3. Database of articles is available online to Peace Corps staff 24-hours per
day, 7 days per week.
4. Online materials are updated regularly to ensure journal articles are kept
up to date with current research.
5. Database includes a search function to allow users to search for articles
specific to a topic, publishing date, and other features.
6. Articles are available in PDF or HTML formats for easy navigation and
downloading.
7. Database and articles are accessible both domestically and
internationally.

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US Peace Corps
Office of Health Services
8. Database allows for multiple, concurrent user logins and simultaneous
usage of resources (access is not restricted based upon number of Peace
Corps users logging into the system at the same time).

III.

Scope
The scope of this contract encompasses licenses to permit access to online
service to assist with mental health specific patient treatment, care, diagnosis,
and research. The scope also encompasses the services required to ensure
Peace Corps Office has access to the vendors system via individual users
Peace Corps domain ID (i.e. email address or User ID) and password
authentication.

IV.

Tasks
1.1

Task 1 Set up and Training

1.1.1 Vendor will provide OHS and COU with written instructions/user
manuals (including screen shots) for setting up the product on the
Government computers.
1.1.2 Vendors help desk will be available during normal business hours
(Monday through Friday 8AM to 5 PM Eastern Time) for support.
Government users shall be able to contact vendor via telephone and
email.
1.1.2.a If there is an emergency help ticket, the vendor shall
provide a response within 24 hours.

1.2
Task 2 Access
At a minimum the vendor shall provide 12 licenses to the Peace Corps
OHS/COU users. The license requirements are as follows:
1.2.1 Provide a database with access to full text mental health and psychology
journal articles, not limited to abstracts or partial articles.
1.2.2 The content of the articles provided in the database is directly related to the
international mental health needs of the Peace Corps; journal articles are specific
to mental health and psychology.
1.2.2.1 Target audience for the journal articles is mental health clinicians,
not patients.
1.2.2.2 Journals and articles provided undergo a meticulous peerreviewed process.

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US Peace Corps
Office of Health Services
1.2.3 Database is available online to Peace Corps COU staff 24-hours per day, 7
days per week.
1.2.4 Updates online materials regularly and maintains journal articles that are
up-to-date.
1.2.5 Database includes a search function to allow users to search for articles
specific to a topic, publishing date, and other features.
1.2.6 Articles are available in PDF or HTML formats for easy navigation and
downloading.
1.2.7 Database and articles are accessible both domestically and internationally.
1.2.8 Database allows for multiple, concurrent user logins and simultaneous
usage of resources (access is not restricted based upon number of Peace Corps
users logging into the system at the same time).

1.3

Task 3 Ongoing training for system administrators

1.3.1 Every Quarter (3 months), vendor shall contact the COR, via email
or phone, with any system updates.
1.3.2 Every Quarter the COR shall provide the vendor with an updated list
of users. The list shall contain: user name, title, email address, and phone
number. The list shall be submitted to the vendor by the COR via email
attachment.
1.3.3 As needed and as requested by the Government, the vendor shall
provide system administrator training. The medium for the training can
include: phone, webinar, or in person.

V.

Delivery
Vendor will deliver to the Peace Corps Head Quarters
1111 20th Street NW
Washington DC 20526

VI.

Government-Furnished Property (GFP)

There is no GFP with this contract.

VII.

Security Considerations
There are no security considerations for this software.

VIII.

Travel
There is no travel associated with this contract.
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US Peace Corps
Office of Health Services

IX.

Special Material Requirements

There are no special material requirements for this contract.

X.

Other Unique Requirements and Considerations

X.1 The vendor shall provide a product which is Section 508 compliant.
X.2 The Office of Health Services will be responsible for contacting the vendor
with any staff and user changes. See Task No 003, part 1.3.2. The point person
for this assignment will be the COR.

XI.

Place of performance
All work shall be performed at the vendors site.

XII.

Period of performance
The performance period will be a 12 month base period with four (4) twelve
month option periods.

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