[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 232 (Tuesday, December 7, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69284-69285]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-26460]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration

[OMB No. 0915-0061--Revision]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Public Comment Request; Bureau of Health Workforce 
Performance Data Collection

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 January 6, 
2022.

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 30-day 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 Samantha Miller, the acting 
HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer at [email protected] or 
call (301) 443-9094.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Information Collection Request Title: Bureau 
of Health Workforce (BHW) Performance Data Collection, OMB No. 0915-
0061--Revision.
    Abstract: Over 40 BHW programs award grants to health professions 
schools and training programs across the United States to develop, 
expand, and enhance training, and to strengthen the distribution of the 
health workforce. These programs are governed by the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 201 et seq.), specifically Titles III, VII, and 
VIII. Performance information about these health professions programs 
is collected in the HRSA Performance Report for Grants and Cooperative 
Agreements. Specific performance measurement requirements for each 
program may be found on the HRSA website at https://bhw.hrsa.gov/grants/reportonyourgrant. Data collection activities consist of two 
reports, an annual progress and annual performance report that are 
submitted by awardees to comply with statutory and programmatic 
requirements for performance measurement and evaluation (including 
specific Title III, VII and VIII requirements), as well as the 
Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) and the GPRA 
Modernization Act of 2010 requirements. The performance measures were 
last revised in 2019 to ensure they addressed programmatic changes, met 
evolving program management needs, and responded to emerging workforce 
concerns. As these changes successfully enabled BHW to demonstrate 
accurate outputs and outcomes associated with the health professions 
programs, BHW will continue with its current performance management 
strategy and make only minor changes that reduce burden, simplify 
reporting, and reflect new Department of Health and Human Services and 
HRSA priorities as well as elements to enable longitudinal analysis of 
program performance. An Excel upload feature will be implemented for a 
majority of programs, discipline-related questions will be split into 
two parts to make it easier for respondents to find the appropriate 
answer, COVID-related questions are being added, additional information 
is being collected for telehealth, and additional loan repayment 
questions are being added.
    A 60-day Notice was published in the Federal Register, 86 FR 53069 
(September 24, 2021). There were no public comments.
    Need and Proposed Use of the Information: The purpose of the 
proposed data collection is to continue analysis and reporting of 
awardee training activities and educational programs, identify intended 
practice locations and report outcomes of funded initiatives. Data 
collected from these grant programs will also provide a description of 
the program activities of approximately 1,630 reporting grantees to 
inform policymakers on the barriers, opportunities, and outcomes 
involved in health care workforce development. The proposed measures 
focus on five key outcomes: (1) Increasing the workforce supply of 
well-educated practitioners in needed professions; (2) increasing the 
number of practitioners that practice in underserved and rural areas; 
(3) enhancing the quality of education; (4) increasing the recruitment, 
training, and placement of under-represented groups in the health 
workforce; and (5) supporting educational infrastructure to increase 
the capacity to train more health professionals in high demand areas.
    Likely Respondents: Respondents are awardees of BHW health 
professions grant programs.
    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.

[[Page 69285]]



                                    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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Direct Financial Support Program             699               1             699             2.7         1,887.3
Infrastructure Program..........             142               1             142             6.2           880.4
Multipurpose or Hybrid Program..             789               1             789             3.4         2,682.6
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    Total.......................           1,630  ..............           1,630  ..............         5,450.3
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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. 2021-26460 Filed 12-6-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P