[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 93 (Wednesday, May 13, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28642-28643]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-10247]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Public Comment Request; Information Collection 
Request Title: Questionnaire and Data Collection Testing, Evaluation, 
and Research for the Health Resources and Services Administration, OMB 
No. 0915-0379--Extension

AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department 
of Health and Human Services.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
HRSA has submitted an Information Collection Request (ICR) to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. Comments 
submitted during the first public review of this ICR will be provided 
to OMB. OMB will accept further comments from the public during the 
review and approval period. OMB may act on HRSA's ICR only after the 30 
day comment period for this notice has closed.

DATES: Comments on this ICR should be received no later than June 12, 
2020.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under Review--Open for 
Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request a copy of the clearance 
requests submitted to OMB for review, email Lisa Wright-Solomon, the 
HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer at [email protected] or 
call (301) 443-1984.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Information Collection Request Title: Questionnaire and Data 
Collection Testing, Evaluation, and Research for HRSA, OMB No. 0915-
0379--Extension.
    Abstract: The purpose of collections under this generic clearance 
is to obtain formative information from respondents to develop new 
questions, questionnaires and tools and to identify problems in 
instruments currently in use. This clearance request is limited to 
formative research activities emphasizing data collection, toolkit 
development, and estimation procedures and reports for internal 
decision-making and development purposes. This clearance request does 
not extend to the collection of data for public release or policy 
formation. It is anticipated that these studies will rely heavily on 
qualitative techniques to meet their objectives. In general, these 
activities are not designed to yield results that meet generally 
accepted standards of statistical rigor but are designed to obtain 
valuable formative information to develop more effective and efficient 
data collection tools that will yield more accurate results and 
decrease non-response.
    A 60-day notice published in the Federal Register on March 2, 2020, 
vol. 85, No. 41, pp. 12307-09. There were no public comments.
    Need and Proposed Use of the Information: HRSA conducts cognitive 
interviews, focus groups, usability tests, field tests/pilot 
interviews, and experimental research in laboratory and field settings, 
both for applied questionnaire development and evaluation as well as 
more basic research on response errors in surveys.
    HRSA staff use various techniques to evaluate interviewer 
administered, self-administered, telephone, Computer Assisted Personal 
Interviewing (CAPI), Computer Assisted Self-Interviewing, Audio 
Computer-Assisted Self-Interviewing, and web-based questionnaires. 
Professionally recognized procedures are followed in each information 
collection activity to ensure high quality data. Examples of these 
procedures could include the following:
     Monitoring by supervisory staff of a certain percent of 
telephone interviews;
     Conducting cognitive interviewing techniques, including 
think-aloud techniques and debriefings;
     Data-entry from mail or paper-and-pencil surveys will be 
computerized through scannable forms or checked through double-key 
entry;
     Observers will monitor focus groups, and focus group 
proceedings will be recorded; and
     Data submitted through on-line surveys will be subjected 
to statistical validation techniques to ensure accuracy (such as 
disallowing out-of-range values).
    Each request under this generic clearance will specify the 
procedures to be used. Participation will be fully voluntary, and non-
participation will have not affect eligibility for, or receipt of, 
future HRSA health services research activities or grant awards, 
recruitment or participation. Specific testing and evaluation 
procedures will be described when we notify OMB about each new request. 
Appropriate consent procedures will be customized and used for each 
information collection activity and any collection of personal, 
privacy-protected information will be handled in accordance with all 
applicable requirements. If the encounter is to be recorded, the 
respondent's permission to record will be obtained before beginning the 
interview.
    Screening--When screening is required (e.g., quota sampling), the 
screening will be as brief as possible and the screening questionnaire 
will be provided as part of the submission to OMB. Collection methods--
The particular information collection methods used will vary, but may 
include the following
     Individual in-depth interviews--In-depth interviews will 
commonly be used to ensure that the meaning of a questionnaire or 
strategy is understood by the respondent. When in-depth interviewing is 
used, the interview guide will be provided to OMB for review.
     Focus groups--Focus groups will be used to obtain insights 
into beliefs and

[[Page 28643]]

understandings of the target audience early in the development of a 
questionnaire or tool. When focus groups are used, the focus group 
discussion guide will be provided to OMB for review.
     Expert/Gatekeeper review of tools--In some instances, 
tools designed for patients may be reviewed in-depth by medical 
providers or other gatekeepers to provide feedback on the acceptability 
and usability of a particular tool. This would usually be in addition 
to pretesting of the tool by the actual patient or other user.
     Record abstractions--On occasion, the development of a 
tool or other information collection requires review and interaction 
with records rather than individuals.
     ``Dress rehearsal'' of a specific protocol--In some 
instances, the proposed pretesting will constitute a walkthrough of the 
intended data collection procedure. In these instances, the request 
will mirror what is expected to occur for the larger scale data 
collection.
    Likely Respondents: Respondents will be recruited by means of 
advertisements in public venues or through techniques that replicate 
prospective data collection activities that are the focus of the 
project. For instance, a survey on physician communication, designed to 
be administered following an office visit, might be pretested using the 
same procedure. Each submission to OMB will specify the specific 
recruitment procedure to be used.
    Burden Statement: Burden in this context means the time expended by 
persons to generate, maintain, retain, disclose or provide the 
information requested. This includes the time needed to review 
instructions; to develop, acquire, install, and utilize technology and 
systems for the purpose of collecting, validating, and verifying 
information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and 
providing information; to train personnel and to be able to respond to 
a collection of information; to search data sources; to complete and 
review the collection of information; and to transmit or otherwise 
disclose the information. The total annual burden hours estimated for 
this ICR are summarized in the table below.

                                    Total Estimated Annualized Burden--Hours
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                                                     Number of                    Average burden
 Type of information collection      Number of     responses per       Total       per response    Total burden
                                    respondents     respondent       responses      (in hours)         hours
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Mail/email \1\..................           1,000               1           1,000            0.26             260
Telephone.......................           1,000               1           1,000            0.26             260
Web-based.......................           1,000               1           1,000            0.25             250
Focus Groups....................             725               1             725            1.00             725
In-person.......................             500               1             500            1.00             500
Automated \2\...................             500               1             500            1.00             500
Cognitive Testing...............             500               1             500            1.41             705
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    Total.......................           5,225  ..............           5,225  ..............           3,200
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\1\ May include telephone non-response follow-up in which case the burden will not change.
\2\ May include testing of database software, CAPI software, or other automated technologies.


Maria G. Button,
Director, Executive Secretariat.
[FR Doc. 2020-10247 Filed 5-12-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P