[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 87 (Friday, May 5, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29137-29138]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-09599]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection: 
Public Comment Request; Information Collection Request Title: 
Evaluation of Programs Supporting the Mental Health of the Health 
Professions Workforce, OMB No. 0915-xxxx--New

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

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 July 5, 
2023.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments to [email protected] or mail the HRSA 
Information Collection Clearance Officer, Room 14N136B, 5600 Fishers 
Lane, Rockville, Maryland 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 Samantha Miller, 
the acting HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer, at 301-594-
4394.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: When submitting comments or requesting 
information, please include the ICR title for reference.
    Information Collection Request Title: Evaluation of Programs 
Supporting the Mental Health of the Health Professions Workforce, OMB 
No. 0915-xxxx--New.
    Abstract: The Public Health Service Act and the American Rescue 
Plan Act of 2021 authorized three programs administered by HRSA: (1) 
the Health and Public Safety Workforce Resiliency Training Program (the 
Training Program); (2) the Promoting Resilience and Mental Health among 
Health Professional Workforce Program (the Workforce Program); and (3) 
the Health and Public Safety Workforce Resiliency Technical Assistance 
Center (the Technical Assistance Center). The Training Program funds 
resilience training activities for the health workforce in rural and 
underserved communities. The Workforce Program supports organizations' 
programs or protocols that foster resilience and wellness among the 
health workforce in these communities. The Technical Assistance Center 
provides tailored training and technical assistance to Training Program 
and Workforce Program awardees. The purpose of the planned evaluation 
is to assess the three programs with respect to their goals of 
promoting resiliency and mental health in the health workforce. Data 
collection efforts will inform HRSA leadership about the progress, 
costs and benefits, and impact of these efforts to support the delivery 
of health care in the United States.

Methods of Collection

    Quantitative and qualitative de-identified data will be collected 
from awardees and their health care workforce. Each instrument will be 
administered twice over the 4-year evaluation period; once mid-way 
through the project period and once after the project period has ended. 
There will also be a one-time comparison group survey. To achieve the 
evaluation, the study will use the following quantitative data 
collection instruments:
    The Healthcare Workforce Survey is a web-based survey intended to 
collect data on the impact and implementation of the Training Program 
and the Workforce Program from individuals in both programs' target 
populations. Respondents will only be asked questions that are relevant 
to their experience. The Healthcare Workforce Survey includes questions 
about before and after program participation to assess self-reported 
change.
    The Fielding Tracker is an Excel-based tool that Workforce Program 
and Training Program awardees will help populate with information on 
how they distributed the Healthcare Workforce Survey (e.g., type and 
frequency of email communications sent to the target populations of 
grant-funded activities, number of individuals emailed, number of 
undeliverable emails received, and demographic information). It will 
also gather aggregated demographic information on the target population 
required for a non-response bias analysis (this information is not 
reported to HRSA elsewhere).
    The Awardee Training and Services Report is an Excel-based tool 
that will be used to clarify how evaluators can refer to each activity 
Training Program and the Workforce Program grantees implemented on the 
Healthcare Workforce Survey so that respondents will recognize the 
activities. The Awardee Training and Services Report will also request 
key descriptive information for each activity. Each report will include 
pre-populated activities or training programs that have been reported 
to HRSA to reduce burden on the Training Program and Workforce Program 
awardees, while confirming, revising, or adding details, as needed.
    The Health and Public Safety Workforce Resiliency Training Program 
Comparison Group Survey is a web-based survey intended to assess key 
outcomes among those in the health workforce who did not have access to 
Training Program-funded activities. A third-party vendor will provide 
the health workforce sample. Eligibility for this survey will be 
assessed using a brief web-based Screener. The purpose of the screener 
is to identify respondents with similar characteristics as the Training 
Program participants.
    The Awardee Survey about the Technical Assistance Center is a web-
based survey intended to assess the Training Program and the Workforce 
Program awardees' experiences with and perceptions of the impact from 
technical assistance provided by the Technical Assistance Center. In 
addition, the Awardee Survey is designed to gather details about 
program implementation to inform future programming.
    The Awardee Cost Workbook is an Excel-based tool that will be used 
to conduct a cost-benefit analysis. It will be pre-populated with 
existing data for the Training Program and the Workforce Program 
awardees to verify and update as needed. Workforce Program awardees are 
expected to have lower response burden because they are required to 
report staff turnover rates through annual reporting; the Training 
Program awardees are not.
    The Awardee Interview Guide and Organizational Assessment Interview 
Protocol are qualitative data collection instruments the evaluation 
team will use as semi-structured interview guides to understand the 
awardees' perspectives on challenges, lessons learned, and 
organizational change. The Organizational Assessment interviews will be 
conducted with the Workforce Program awardees, given the grant

[[Page 29138]]

program's unique focus on organizational change. Questions will be 
tailored depending on the role of the interviewee, which could include 
the awardee project director, the manager, an external partner, and up 
to three workforce team members.
    Need and Proposed Use of the Information: The information collected 
for this evaluation will enable a comprehensive evaluation of these 
important HRSA-funded programs to promote resiliency and improve mental 
health in the health workforce. The proposed data collection efforts 
are critical to understanding program outcomes and will inform 
leadership on program progress and inform future programming. Data 
collection will assist in the development of actionable strategies and 
methodologies to inform future programs, investment strategies, and 
ongoing workforce resiliency policy development. Data collection will 
align with parallel efforts across HRSA, providing previously un-
collected or un-verified information critical to understanding factors 
related to the success of current HRSA programs. All instruments have 
been designed to leverage and not duplicate annual performance 
reporting requirements and data collected by the Technical Assistance 
Center.
    Likely Respondents: For the Healthcare Workforce Survey, all 
individuals in the target population of the Training Program and 
Workforce Programs will be invited to complete the survey. For the 
Training Program Comparison Group Survey, the following types of 
professionals across the four census regions will be targeted: nurses, 
physicians, physician assistants, behavioral health providers, nursing 
students, medical school students and residents, and clinical social 
work or psychology students. For the Awardee Interviews and Awardee 
Training and Services Reports Form, the Training Program, Workforce 
Program, and Technical Assistance Center awardees will be invited to 
participate. For the Awardee Survey about the Technical Assistance 
Center and the Fielding Tracker, the Training Program and Workforce 
Program awardees will be asked to participate. For the Organizational 
Assessment Interviews, multiple types of staff at each Workforce 
Program awardee organization will be targeted.
    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
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     Number of                    Average burden
            Form name                Number of     responses per       Total       per response    Total burden
                                    respondents     respondent       responses      (in hours)         hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Healthcare Workforce Survey.....          29,359               1          29,359            0.25           7,340
The Training Program Comparison          180,000               1         180,000            0.05           9,000
 Group Screener.................
The Training Program Comparison            2,600               1           2,600            0.17             442
 Group Survey...................
The Training Program Awardee                  34               1              34            5.00             170
 Cost Workbook..................
Awardee Interview Guide.........              44               1              44            1.50              66
Awardee Training and Services                 44               1              44            1.00              44
 Report.........................
Fielding Tracker................              44               1              44            4.00             176
The Workforce Program Awardee                 10               1              10            3.50              35
 Cost Workbook..................
The Workforce Program                         50               1              50            1.00              50
 Organizational Assessment
 Interview Protocol.............
Awardee Survey about the                      44               1              44            1.00              44
 Technical Assistance Center....
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................         212,229              10         212,229           17.47          17,367
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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. 2023-09599 Filed 5-4-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P