Request for Proposals

Transcription

1 Background The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF or Task Force) is an independent, volunteer panel of national experts in prevention and evidence-based medicine. Since its inception in 1984, the Task Force has worked to improve the health of all Americans by making evidence-based recommendations about clinical preventive services and health promotion. These recommendations address screening tests, counseling about healthy behaviors, and preventive medications for adults and children. Since 1998, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has been authorized by Congress to convene the Task Force and to provide ongoing scientific, administrative, and dissemination support. Task Force recommendations focus on interventions to prevent disease and apply only to people without signs or symptoms of the disease or condition under consideration. The recommendations address services offered in the primary care setting or services referred by primary care professionals. The Task Force makes recommendations to help primary care clinicians and patients decide together whether a preventive service is right for an individual s needs. The Task Force makes recommendations based on a rigorous review of existing peer-reviewed evidence. It does not conduct research studies, but rather reviews and assesses published research. The USPSTF follows a multistep process when developing each of its recommendations. The process starts with the USPSTF and researchers from an Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC) developing a research plan for the systematic evidence review on the topic. The research plan includes key questions to be answered and target populations to be considered. The draft research plan is posted on the USPSTF Web site for public comment for 4 weeks, during which time anyone can provide comment. The USPSTF and the EPC review all comments and consider them in finalizing the research plan. Using the final research plan as a guide, EPC researchers gather, review, and analyze evidence on the topic from studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. The EPC summarizes this evidence in a comprehensive review of the evidence. Task Force members use the evidence review as the basis for their assessment of the effectiveness of the preventive service under consideration. They balance both the potential benefits and harms in making their recommendations. The Task Force does not consider costs in its appraisal of the effectiveness of a service, but does occasionally use decision models to help understand the relative benefits and harms of alternate prevention strategies. After carefully considering the evidence presented in the draft evidence review, the USPSTF develops a draft recommendation statement. The draft recommendation statement and draft evidence review are posted on the USPSTF Web site for public comment for 4 weeks. The Task Force requests feedback on the completeness of the evidence, its interpretation of the evidence, and the clarity and usefulness of the draft recommendation statement. All comments related to the draft evidence review are assessed by the researchers at the EPC, and the evidence review is revised as necessary. Members of the Task Force review all comments received on the draft recommendation statement, and revise the recommendation statement as appropriate. The Task Force assigns each of its recommendations a letter grade (A, B, C, or D) or issues an I statement, based on the certainty of the evidence and the balance of benefits and harms of the preventive service. Clinical preventive services with a grade of A and B are those services for which the benefits of the service substantially outweigh its harms. The Task Force recommends that clinicians offer and patients consider taking advantage of these services. For services assigned a C grade, the net benefit is small. The USPSTF recommends that health care professionals selectively offer these services 1

2 to individual patients based on professional judgment and the patient s preferences and values. Services with a D grade are those for which there is no overall benefit, or the harms outweigh the benefits. The Task Force recommends that clinicians not promote these services and patients consider avoiding them. The Task Force issues an I statement when the evidence is insufficient to determine the balance of benefits and harms. For more information about the Task Force, its procedures, and current recommendations, please visit The current Task Force library includes 150 specific recommendations on over 80 individual topics. The Task Force aims to update each topic every 5 years or more frequently if significant new evidence becomes available. In order to reach this goal, the Task Force anticipates publishing 15 recommendation statements, 15 summaries of the systematic evidence reviews, and 1 to 2 modeling papers each year. The Task Force currently has a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Annals of Internal Medicine, giving its editor-in-chief first right of refusal on any topic related to adolescents or adults, and an MOU with Pediatrics, giving its editor-in-chief first right of refusal on any topic related to children. These relationships have been very successful; both journals have been flexible and collaborative in meeting the publishing needs of the Task Force. The Task Force is soliciting proposals for publishing its work not because it is dissatisfied with the service it is currently receiving, but to make its publishing opportunities as fair and transparent as possible. Request for Proposals The Task Force is seeking proposals from peer-reviewed scientific journals or consortia of journals to publish its recommendation statements and related documents (summaries of systematic evidence reviews, summaries of decision analysis studies, and articles on methodological issues). The journal or consortia of journals must be willing to publish topics that cover child, adolescent, and adult health, as well as men and women s health. Consortia of journals may apply jointly and demonstrate how they will work together to make one unified process for publishing Task Force recommendations and related documents. The Task Force intends to enter into an MOU with one journal or one consortium of journals to publish its recommendation statements, evidence summaries, and related documents. Organizations that can meet the following requirements are encouraged to submit a proposal: 1. The journal must represent general medicine and primary care practice in the United States. A significant portion of the journal s circulation or reach must be primary care professionals in the United States. 2. All final published documents, including USPSTF recommendation statements, must be in the public domain. The journal must be willing to give AHRQ a final version of the recommendation statement and any related documents so they can be posted on the USPSTF Web site ( at the time of publication. 3. The journal or consortium must plan on publishing all submitted Task Force recommendation statements and supporting documents. The journal may not selectively pick recommendation statements for publication. The journal may not refuse to publish certain recommendation statements because they do not align with other guidelines or articles published by the journal or its parent organization or company. 4. The journal must be willing to request only minor revisions to the recommendation statement. Ideally, the journal will forego full peer review of the recommendation statement, as it has 2

3 already been externally reviewed before submission through the public comment process and by subject matter experts. 5. The journal should follow its standard peer-review process for evaluating evidence summaries and other supporting documents, such as summaries of decision analysis studies. 6. The journal must agree to publish documents that have been publically available in draft form (for the purposes of providing public comment) prior to publication. 7. For summaries of the systematic evidence reviews that support the USPSTF recommendation statement, the journal must consider the evidence up-to-date if it is based on a search of the literature conducted within 6 months of initial submission. 8. The journal must be able to offer expedited review and production processes for all Task Force publications, as well as early online release with the possibility of a later print publication. The Task Force is interested in partnering with a journal or journal consortium that is able to publish evidence manuscripts within months of submission and recommendation statements within 1 month of submission. 9. The journal must be willing to coordinate simultaneous publication of evidence summaries and recommendation statements, and to coordinate all publication activities, including any journal media outreach (e.g., media alerts), with AHRQ staff. Format of the Proposal The proposal should be double spaced, with 1" margins, and use no smaller than 11-point font. The proposal must not exceed 10 pages in length. Letters of support and appendixes will be accepted as supporting documents. The proposal can be submitted electronically or as a hard copy (see below for submission instructions). The proposal should include the following sections and information. About the Journal Please provide general information about the journal, such as: A breakdown of the journal s circulation, including number and type of primary care professionals. Description of the print and electronic publication schedule, including the number of articles or pages per issue, relationship between print and online content, and use of early online publication. The journal s parent organization or company, and the journal s relationship with/independence from its sponsor. The journal s standard policies and forms for authors. The journal s policy on advertising. The journal s policy on the public domain. The journal s standard media outreach activities. The journal s continuing medical education opportunities for its readers. This section should also describe the journal s experience in working with independent, guidelinemaking groups and in reviewing and publishing summaries of systematic evidence reviews, summaries of decision analysis studies, articles on methodological issues, and clinical guidelines. For consortia of journals, the above information should be provided for each member. Working With the USPSTF 3

4 This section should describe the journal s understanding of the publishing needs of the Task Force and how it would work with the Task Force and AHRQ, through process and collaboration, to address them. Potential areas to highlight include: The journal s willingness to make only minor copyedits to USPSTF recommendation statements. The journal s willingness to publish documents that have been publically available on the USPSTF Web site in draft form prior to publication. The journal s basic standards for publishing systematic evidence reviews, including age of bridge search and length of manuscript. The journal s process for and experience with reviewing and publishing decision analysis studies, articles on methodological issues, or other nonsystematic evidence reviews. The journal s suggested timeline for Task Force publications. Separate timelines for recommendation statements, evidence summary manuscripts, decision analysis manuscripts, and general methodology papers should be considered. Each timeline should begin with submission and include the number of weeks for a series of key steps, ending with publication. o As a panel of volunteers working in a constantly evolving field with tremendous interest in the timeliness of its recommendations, the Task Force has greatly benefited from a close partnership with its current journal editors, and the flexibility these journals have demonstrated in accommodating changes in publication dates. The journal should discuss to what degree and how its staff is prepared to offer such flexibility. The journal s plan for how it will facilitate coordination with AHRQ and the Task Force. For example, activities may include monthly calls with AHRQ staff, assigning a dedicated editor for all Task Force publications, preparing a style guide for EPC researchers for evidence summaries and decision analysis studies (e.g., article length, table format), or preparing special instructions for peer reviewers of USPSTF publications. The journal s ability to provide any additional support materials, such as clinician or patient summaries, video interviews with Task Force members, or Web-based discussion forums. The journal s process for identifying authorship of recommendation statements. Currently, all Task Force members who contribute to a recommendation are listed in PubMed as an author. The journal s willingness to copublish articles with other journals, including specialty journals, and relevant experience. For journal consortia: identification of the lead contact and a description of the proposed process for determining which journal will publish which manuscript, how efforts between consortia members will be coordinated, and if and how processes will be aligned between journals to streamline the submission process for the Task Force. Evaluation of Proposals Proposals will be reviewed by senior AHRQ staff and the Task Force chairs. Evaluation criteria will include the journal s demonstrated ability to: 1. Meet the requirements as stated above, including the timelines, coordination, and flexibility proposed by the journal. 2. Reach practicing primary care professionals in the United States. 3. Reach primary care researchers and other important stakeholders in the United States. 4

5 In addition, the proposals will be evaluated on: 4. The journal s reputation, scientific integrity, rigor, and independence. 5. The journal s experience in working with independent guideline- and recommendation-making groups. 6. The journal s ability to offer other dissemination and translation opportunities. Submission Instructions Questions about the Task Force or this request for proposals may be submitted to: USPSTF Coordinator at coordinator@uspstf.net. Please include in the subject line: Question Regarding Proposal for USPSTF Publications. To submit electronically, please send the proposal as an attachment (Word or PDF file) to: USPSTF Coordinator at coordinator@uspstf.net. Please include in the subject line: Proposal for USPSTF Publications. To submit a hard copy, please mail or deliver the proposal to: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force c/o Ms. Joya Chowdhury Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality 540 Gaither Road Rockville, MD All proposals must be received by 5:00 p.m., ET, December 1,