The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) is seeking a contractor to provide support in data entry, data management and statistical analysis of the course and outcome of pregnancies in a specific area of Baltimore City which is targeted for a community based intervention to reduce the rate of low birth weight. The intervention or the Baltimore Model Prenatal Care and Follow-up Project (hereafter referred to as the Baltimore Project) is a community-based program that is designed to improve the care of the pregnant woman and the health of her infant through the first year of life in a selected inner city community in Baltimore. This program will bring together a number of interventions in a comprehensive way. A coordinated outreach program will be used to bring women at high risk of poor pregnancy outcome into contact with health and social service programs during early pregnancy. Formal risk assessment will be used to classify women into a number of risk groups. High risk women will be divided into socioeconomic, psychosocial, nutritional, and behavioral risk groups (which includes smoking, alcohol, and substance abuse). Interventions will be individualized for each woman and will focus on specific risk factors. A careful assessment of individual needs and intervention will be kept for every participant. Pregnancy outcomes will be noted. After birth, interventions will stress compliance with well baby care, immunizations and parental education to improve parenting skills. The evaluation of the impact of the interventions on the rate of low birth weight requires the computerized maintenance of information on all pregnant women participating in the project, and the use of vital records maintained by the Baltimore City Health Department (BCHD) and the State of Maryland. The selected contractor shall use the information collected by the Baltimore City project team and the information available from vital records to enter data into computerized data files, edit data, perform analysis under NICHD direction and provide computerized data files and program with complete documentation for additional analysis by NICHD.
