[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 187 (Tuesday, September 26, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57822-57823]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-24626]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

    In compliance with section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 concerning opportunity for public comment on proposed 
collections of information, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health 
Services Administration will publish periodic summaries of proposed 
projects. To request more information on the proposed projects or to 
obtain a copy of the information collection plans, call the SAMHSA 
Reports Clearance Officer on (301) 443-7978.
    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collections of 
information are necessary for the proper performance of the functions 
of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways 
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, 
including through the use of automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology.

Proposed Project

    Providers Survey in the Aging, Mental Health/Substance Abuse and 
Primary Care Program--(New)-- The Center for Mental Health Services 
(CMHS) of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 
(SAMHSA), in collaboration with the Center for Substance Abuse 
Prevention (CSAP) and the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), 
the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Health Care Financing 
Administration (HCFA), and the Health Resources and Services 
Administration (HRSA), plans to conduct a survey of the service 
providers in the Aging, Mental Health/Substance Abuse and Primary Care 
Program. The purpose of this program is to evaluate alternative models 
of delivering and financing mental health and/or substance abuse 
services for older adults through primary health care. We hope to 
identify differences in outcomes between models referring to specialty 
mental health/substance abuse (MH/SA) services outside the primary care 
setting (Referral Model) and those providing such services within the 
primary care setting itself (Integrated Model).
    SAMHSA is funding the Coordinating Center at the Harvard Medical 
School and six Study Sites, three of which are also HRSA Community 
Health Centers and receive additional service enhancement funding from 
HRSA. Furthermore, the VA is funding a Coordinating Center at the Miami 
VAMC and another five VA Study Sites, following the same protocol, 
making a total of 11 Study Sites, in 8 States throughout the country. 
In the intervention, over 50,000 individuals over age 65 are expected 
to be screened in primary care settings for mental health and substance 
abuse problems; those in need will receive treatment in either the 
referral model or the integrated model.
    Specifically, the primary purpose of the Aging, MH/SA and Primary 
Care Program is to specify the conditions under which integrated and 
referral models are most effective in terms of access, adherence, 
consumer outcomes, and system outcomes. The multi-site study will focus 
on the impact of the treatment models on older adults with depression, 
anxiety, alcoholism, and alcohol abuse with other drugs, and 
combinations of the above disorders. It highlights prevention, early 
identification, early intervention, and brief treatment components of 
service models; it incorporates a consumer-oriented approach throughout 
all phases of the study, and cultural competence in all study 
instruments and methods for a variety of ethnic older populations. This 
study will seek to expand our knowledge, using the most rigorous 
available scientific methods available, by measuring the relative 
effectiveness of service models.

[[Page 57823]]

    In this context, this study intends to evaluate the role of the 
providers in the treatment of these older adults with MH/SA disorders, 
both the Primary Care Providers (PCPs) and MH/SA Providers. Therefore, 
it is proposed to use a questionnaire called a Providers Survey to 
survey both PCPs and MH/SA Providers to determine their perceptions, 
attitudes and beliefs about providing these services to older adults 
under the two service delivery models.
    Analysis of this information will assist SAMHSA in documenting 
communication patterns with, attitudes towards, and perceptions of 
older adults participants in the study, permitting some understanding 
of the provider-older adult interactions. In addition, there may be 
important differences between the integrated and referral service 
delivery models in the interaction between the PCP and MH/SA Providers. 
These two sets of interactions may, in turn, have a direct effect or 
moderating effect on the effectiveness of the service delivery models.
    The Provider Survey will be used one time as a part of Process 
Evaluation at the time of site visits to the 11 Study Sites in the 
spring of 2001. Outside, formal comparison groups are not needed, as 
the main comparisons will be made of the integrated and referral models 
within each study site.
    The 11 Study Sites expect to survey approximately 312 providers for 
this study, including 158 PCPs and 154 MH/SA Providers. The chart below 
summarizes complete burden for this project.

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                                                                                          Average
                                                               Number of    Responses/    burden/       Annual
                       Respondent type                        respondents   respondent    response      burden
                                                                                          (hours)      (hours)
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Primary care providers......................................          158            1        0.133           21
Mental health/substance abuse providers.....................          154            1        0.133           20
                                                             ---------------------------------------------------
    Total...................................................          312  ...........  ...........           41
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    Send comments to Nancy Pearce, SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer, 
Room 16-105, Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857. 
Written comments should be received within 60 days of this notice.

    Dated: September 20, 2000.
Richard Kopanda,
Executive Officer, SAMHSA.
[FR Doc. 00-24626 Filed 9-25-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4162-20-P