[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 130 (Tuesday, July 8, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40680-40681]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-17137]


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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) publishes 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 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: Health Center Expansion and Recruitment Survey--New

    HRSA's Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP) currently funds a 
number of Rural Health Research Centers in the United States, 
allocating funding through cooperative agreements. Authorized by 
section 301 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 241), ORHP 
conducts research and investigations to render assistance to 
appropriate public authorities in the areas of the health and well-
being of rural populations in the United States. A major current 
initiative of HRSA is the expansion of Health Centers (HCs), which 
provide medical care to lower income Americans on the basis of ability 
to pay in rural and urban areas.
    HCs are a key element of the nation's medical care safety net, and 
are scheduled to expand the scope of their operations in the near 
future. One of the issues affecting HC expansion is their ability to 
recruit adequate numbers of medical and administrative personnel to 
accomplish their mission, particularly in rural areas, where there have 
been persistent problems recruiting and retaining health care 
personnel. HRSA's Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP) has funded a 
study in collaborative oversight with the Bureau of Primary Health Care 
(BPHC) and the Bureau of Health Professions (BHPr), to collect 
information from HCs on issues concerning the recruitment of various 
types of health professionals and administrative personnel.
    This data collection effort is designed to assess the problems 
encountered by rural and remote HCs in their efforts to recruit needed 
personnel as well as the types of programs employed in recruitment 
efforts, and to compare these patterns with prevailing programs in 
urban HCs. This one-time survey will collect information on all HCs in 
the United States. The survey includes 13 separate response items, and 
will collect information from HC administrators on health care 
professional staffing, recruitment trends, and issues and needs among 
HCs throughout the nation. The data collected will improve HRSA's 
abilities in forecasting needs for personnel as HCs expand, planning 
recruitment programs and strategies, and implementation of local and 
national policy initiatives to meet the personnel demands of HCs so 
that access to health care is maximized.
    The burden estimates are as follows:

[[Page 40681]]



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                                                                                         Number of                        Avg. burden/
          Health center expansion, and recruitment survey               Number of      responses per   Total number of     hours per       Total burden
                                                                       respondents       respondent       responses         response          hours
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Survey instruments.................................................             845                1              845              .25              211
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    Send comments to Susan G. Queen, Ph.D, HRSA Reports Clearance 
Officer, Room 14-45, Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville MD 
20857. Written comments should be received within 60 days of this 
notice.

    Dated: June 25, 2003.
Jane M. Harrison,
Director, Division of Policy Review and Coordination.
[FR Doc. 03-17137 Filed 7-7-03; 8:45 am]
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