[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 251 (Friday, December 29, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 83072-83073]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-33219]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection: 
Comment Request

    In compliance with the requirement for opportunity for public 
comment on proposed data collection projects (section 3506(c)(2)(A) of 
Title 44, United States Code, as amended by the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995, Pub. L. 104-13), the Health Resources and Services 
Administration (HRSA) will publish periodic summaries of proposed 
projects being developed for submission to OMB under the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995. To request more information on the proposed 
project or to obtain a copy of the data collection plans and draft 
instruments, call the HRSA Reports Clearance Officer on (301) 443-1129.
    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is 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: Evaluation of the Scholarships for Disadvantaged 
Students (SDS) Program--New

    The Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students (SDS) program was 
established in 1990 to provide financial assistance to health 
professions and nursing students from disadvantaged backgrounds. A 
primary tenet of the SDS program is that students who come from 
disadvantaged backgrounds will be most likely to practice in Medically 
Underserved Communities (MUCs) after graduation. In this way, the SDS 
program is working to alleviate health profession and nursing shortages 
across the country.
    The evaluation of this program will include a mail survey directed 
at graduates of SDS-participating institutions in the fields of 
allopathic and osteopathic medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, 
optometry, podiatry, pharmacy, nursing, allied health and behavioral 
and mental health. The survey will be directed at the 1996 graduates of 
allopathic and osteopathic medicine schools who participated in the SDS 
program in both 1996 and 2001. The survey will also be directed at the 
1999 graduates of dentistry, veterinary medicine, optometry, podiatry, 
pharmacy, nursing, allied health and behavioral and mental health 
schools who participated in the SDS program in both 1999 and 2001. The 
information will identify the place and type of employment for each 
individual surveyed in order to determine whether or not the individual 
practiced in a MUC between July 1, 1999, and June 30, 2000. The data 
collected through this survey will be used to determine whether 
statistically significant differences exist between the rate at which 
disadvantaged versus non-disdvantaged individuals and SDS scholarship 
recipients versus non-recipients practice in MUCs after graduation. 
These data will also be used to to determine whether differences exist 
in the rates at which individuals in different health professions work 
in MUCs. The results will be used to formulate programmatic and policy 
recommendations designed to strengthen the SDS program and increase its 
effectiveness.

[[Page 83073]]



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                                                                           Number of                      Total
                    Type of survey                         Number of     responses per     Hours per     burden
                                                          respondents     respondent       response       hours
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Graduate Survey.......................................            3750               1             .25     937.5
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    Send comments to Susan G. Queen, Ph.D., HRSA Reports Clearance 
Officer, Room 14-33, Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, 
MD 20857. Written comments should be received within 60 days of this 
notice.

    Dated: December 22, 2000.
Jane M. Harrison,
Director, Division of Policy Review and Coordination.
[FR Doc. 00-33219 Filed 12-28-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-15-P