[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 49 (Monday, March 14, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14246-14247]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-05347]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses

AGENCY: Census Bureau, Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of information collection, request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, invites the general public and other 
Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information 
collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information 
collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The 
purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment on the 
proposed reinstatement, with change, of National Sample Survey of 
Registered Nurses (NSSRN), prior to the submission of the information 
collection request (ICR) to OMB for approval.

DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed 
information collection must be received on or before May 13, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments by 
email to [email protected]. Please reference National Sample Survey 
of Registered Nurses (NSSRN) in the subject line of your comments. You 
may also submit comments, identified by Docket Number USBC-2022-0006, 
to the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. All 
comments received are part of the public record. No comments will be 
posted to http://www.regulations.gov for public viewing until after the 
comment period has closed. Comments will generally be posted without 
change. All Personally Identifiable Information (for example, name and 
address) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly 
accessible. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or 
otherwise sensitive or protected information. You may submit 
attachments to electronic comments in Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe 
PDF file formats.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
specific questions related to collection activities should be directed 
to Daniel Doyle, Assistant Survey Director, (301) 763-5304, and 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' 
(HHS') Health Resources Services Administration's (HRSA) National 
Center for Health Workforce Analysis (NCHWA), the National Sample 
Survey of Registered Nurses (NSSRN) is conducted to assist in 
fulfilling the Congressional mandates of the Public Health Service Act. 
Under 42 U.S.C. Section 294n(b)(2)(A), the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services (the Secretary) must establish a National Center for 
Health Workforce Analysis

[[Page 14247]]

responsible for the development of information describing and analyzing 
the health care workforce and workforce related issues as well as to 
provide necessary information for decision-making regarding future 
directions in health professions and nursing programs in response to 
societal and professional needs. In addition, under another provision 
of the Public Health Service Act, 42 U.S.C. Section 295k(a)-(b), the 
Secretary is required to establish ``a program, including a uniform 
health professions data reporting system, to collect, compile, and 
analyze data on health professions personnel.'' Under this same 
provision, the Secretary may expand the program to include, whenever 
determined necessary, ``the collection, compilation, and analysis of 
data . . . health care administration personnel, nurses, allied health 
personnel . . . in States designated by the Secretary to be included in 
the program.'' The NSSRN is designed to obtain the necessary data to 
determine the characteristics and distribution of Registered Nurses 
(RNs) throughout the United States, as well as emerging patterns in 
their employment characteristics. These data will provide the means for 
the evaluation and assessment of the evolving demographics, educational 
qualifications, and career employment patterns of RNs, consistent with 
the goals of congressional mandates of the Public Health Service Act 
found in 42 U.S.C. Section 294n(b)(2)(A) and Section 295k(a)-(b). Such 
data have become particularly important for the need to better 
understand workforce issues given the recent dynamic change in the RN 
population and, the transformation of the healthcare system.
    NSSRN is seeking clearance to make the following changes:
     Increased sample size--The 2022 NSSRN plans to sample 
125,000 RNs compared with 100,000 RNs in the 2018 NSSRN. The increased 
sample will allow for the potential to have more nursing estimates 
released. The 125,000 RNs will be selected from a sampling frame 
compiled from files provided by the State Boards of Nursing and the 
National Council of the State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN). These files 
constitute a sampling frame of all RNs licensed in the 50 States and 
the District of Columbia. Sampling rates are set for each state based 
on considerations of statistical precision of the estimates and the 
costs involved in obtaining reliable national and state-level 
estimates.
     Unconditional incentive--The NSSRN will experiment with 
unconditional monetary incentives for the 2022 cycle, with 90% of the 
sample receiving $5 with an initial web invitation letter. The 
intention of the monetary incentive is to test the efficacy of reducing 
nonresponse bias by encouraging response, that is, whether offering $5 
increases response, thus reducing non-response bias and reducing costs 
associated with follow-up mailings. The unconditional monetary 
incentive will be randomly assigned to 90% of the sample prior to data 
collection.
     Revised questionnaire content--There are modifications to 
the questionnaire which include removing items, modifying existing 
items and adding new content for the 2022 NSSRN. There is a new set of 
questions that will evaluate nursing during the coronavirus pandemic. 
The new content has been cognitively tested and final content decisions 
are still being discussed. The final set of proposed new and modified 
content will be included in the full OMB ICR for the 2022 NSSRN.
    Besides the proposed changes listed above, the 2022 NSSRN will make 
modifications to data collection strategies. Results from the prior 
survey cycle will be used to inform the decisions.
    From the prior cycle of the NSSRN, using American Association for 
Public Opinion Research definitions of response, we can expect for the 
2022 NSSRN a response rate of 50%.

II. Method of Collection

    Web push is the data collection design for the 2022 NSSRN. All 
125,000 RNs will receive an initial invitation letter with instructions 
on how to complete the questionnaire via the web. Ninety percent 
(112,500) of the sampled RNs will receive a $5 unconditional monetary 
incentive with the initial invitation, ten percent (12,500) of sampled 
RNs will not receive a monetary incentive. The experimental design will 
test the efficacy of monetary incentives on this population. No 
additional incentives are planned for subsequent follow-up mailings.
    Following the initial invitation letter, two additional web 
invitations, two reminder pressure sealed postcards and one paper 
questionnaire mailing will be mailed. Similar to the 2018 NSSRN, the 
2022 NSSRN will have a Telephone Questionnaire Assistance (TQA) line 
available. TQA staff will not only be able to answer respondent 
questions and concerns, but also will be able to collect survey 
responses over the phone, using an administrative access to the web 
instrument, if the respondent calls in and would like to have 
interviewer assistance in completing the interview.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0607-1002.
    Form Number(s): NSSRN.
    Type of Review: Regular submission, Request for a Reinstatement, 
with Change, of a Previously Approved Collection.
    Affected Public: Nursing populations, researchers, policy makers.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 62,500.
    Estimated Time per Response: 30 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 31,250.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Census Authority: 13 U.S.C. Section 8(b).
    HRSA Authority: Public Health Service Act, 42 U.S.C. Section 
294n(b)(2)(A) and 42 U.S.C. Section 295k(a)-(b).

IV. Request for Comments

    We are soliciting public comments to permit the Department/Bureau 
to: (a) Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is 
necessary for the proper functions of the Department, including whether 
the information will have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the accuracy 
of our estimate of the time and cost burden for this proposed 
collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions 
used; (c) Evaluate ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; and (d) Minimize the reporting burden 
on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. We will include, or summarize, each comment in our 
request to OMB to approve this ICR. Before including your address, 
phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information 
in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--
including your personal identifying information--may be made publicly 
available at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold 
your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2022-05347 Filed 3-11-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P