[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 110 (Monday, June 8, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35099-35100]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-12308]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection: 
Public Comment Request; Information Collection Request Title: Maternal 
Health Portfolio Evaluation Design, OMB No. 0906-xxxx--NEW

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirement for opportunity for public 
comment on proposed data collection projects of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, HRSA announces plans to submit an Information Collection 
Request (ICR), described below, to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB). Prior to submitting the ICR to OMB, HRSA seeks comments from the 
public regarding the burden estimate, below, or any other aspect of the 
ICR.

DATES: Comments on this ICR should be received no later than August 7, 
2020.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments to [email protected] or mail the HRSA 
Information Collection Clearance Officer, Room 14N136B, 5600 Fishers 
Lane, Rockville, MD 20857.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on the 
proposed project or to obtain a copy of the data collection plans and 
draft instruments, email [email protected] or call Lisa Wright-
Solomon, the HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer at (301) 
443-1984.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: When submitting comments or requesting 
information, please include the information request collection title 
for reference.
    Information Collection Request Title: Maternal Health Portfolio 
Evaluation Design OMB No. 0906-xxxx--NEW.
    Abstract: HRSA programs provide health care to people who are 
geographically isolated, economically, or medically vulnerable. HRSA 
programs help those in need of high quality primary health care, such 
as pregnant women and mothers. Improving maternal health outcomes and 
access to quality maternity care

[[Page 35100]]

services is a key component of the HRSA mission. HRSA's Maternal and 
Child Health Bureau (MCHB) provides funding to address some of the most 
urgent issues influencing the high rates of maternal mortality. Recent 
efforts to address persistent disparities in maternal, infant, and 
child health have employed a ``life course'' perspective and health 
equity lens focused on health promotion and disease prevention. The 
life course approach can be defined as analyzing people's lives within 
structural, social, and cultural contexts through a defined sequence of 
age categories that people are normally expected to pass through as 
they progress from birth to death. Health equity is defined as the 
attainment of the highest level of health for all people.
    Achieving health equity for pregnant and postpartum women will 
require attention to barriers in access to quality health services and 
promotion of equal opportunities to seek the highest possible level of 
health and well-being. Achieving health equity also requires a focus on 
social determinants of health.
    With this emphasis on improving maternal health across the life 
course and promoting optimal health for all mothers, HRSA is employing 
a multipronged strategy to address maternal mortality and severe 
maternal morbidity through the following suite of programs:
    1. The State Maternal Health Innovation Program,
    2. The Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health Program,
    3. The Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health--Community Care 
Initiative,
    4. The Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies 
Program, and
    5. The Supporting Maternal Health Innovation Program.
    MCHB is conducting a portfolio-wide evaluation of HRSA-supported 
Maternal Health Programs with a primary focus on reducing maternal 
mortality. Through this evaluation, HRSA seeks to identify individual 
and/or collective strategies, interrelated activities, and common 
themes within and across the Maternal Health Programs that may be 
contributing to or driving improvements in key maternal health 
outcomes. HRSA seeks to ascertain which components should be elevated 
and replicated to the national level, as well as inform future 
investments to reduce rates of maternal mortality and severe maternal 
morbidity.
    Need and Proposed Use of the Information: HRSA seeks to understand 
the impact of HRSA's investments into maternal health programs. These 
five HRSA maternal health programs represent a total of 12 state-based 
grantees and three grantees with the potential for national reach. In 
understanding the strategies that are most effective in reducing 
maternal morbidity and mortality, HRSA will be able to determine which 
program elements could be replicated and/or scaled up nationally.
    Likely Respondents: Likely respondents are recipients of the 
cooperative agreements mentioned above (State Maternal Health 
Innovation Program, Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health Program, 
Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health--Community Care Initiative, 
Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies Program, and 
Supporting Maternal Health Innovation Program) which include 11 state 
health agencies, 2 national organizations, and 2 academic 
organizations.
    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
            Form name                Number of     responses per       Total       per response    Total burden
                                    respondents     respondent       responses      (in hours)         hours
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Instrument 1: Interview guide                 75               1              75            1.00            75.0
 for grantee staff..............
Instrument 2: Interview guide                  7               1               7            1.50            10.5
 for HRSA POs...................
Instrument 3: Partnership Survey             290               1             290            0.25            72.5
Instrument 4: Web-based data                  15               1              15            0.50             7.5
 collection tool................
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    Total.......................             387  ..............             387  ..............           165.5
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    HRSA specifically requests comments on (1) the necessity and 
utility of the proposed information collection for the proper 
performance of the agency's functions, (2) the accuracy of the 
estimated burden, (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 
of the information to be collected, and (4) the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology to 
minimize the information collection burden.

Maria G. Button,
Director, Executive Secretariat.
[FR Doc. 2020-12308 Filed 6-5-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P