Justification: Nutrition Education PSA Tracking Survey

Memorandum

Date: February 5, 2021

To: Karen Matsuoka, OMB Desk Officer, Food and Nutrition Service

Through: Dawn Wolfgang, Food and Nutrition Service, Information Clearance Officer

From: Steven Carlson, Acting Director, Office of Analysis, Nutrition, and

Evaluation (OANE)

Judy Wilson, Staff Director, Nutrition Services Staff, OANE

USDA – Food and Nutrition Service

Re: Under Approved Generic OMB Clearance No. 0584-0524

Request Approval to Perform Formative Research –

Nutrition Education Public Service Advertising Tracking Survey

______________________________________________________________________________

The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) of the USDA Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services is requesting approval for formative research under Approved Generic OMB Clearance No. 0584-0524.

The following information is provided for your review:

1. Title of Project: Nutrition Education Public Service Advertising Tracking Survey

2. Control Number: 0584-0524

3. Public affected by this Project: Target audience for this project is low-income mothers and caregivers with children ages 2 to 12.

4. Number of respondents:

Survey Occurrence	Number of Respondents
Pre Wave – May 2007	500
Post Wave 1 – April 2008	500
Post Wave 2 – March 2009	500
Total Occurrences = 3	Total Number of Participants = 1500

5. Time needed per Response: The total response burden will be 10 minutes (.167 hours).

6. Total Burden Hours on Public: .167 hours x 1,500 respondents (500 per wave x 3 waves) = 251 total hours

7. Project Purpose, Methodology and Design:

Background

The Advertising Council has contracted with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Consumer Services (USDA, FNCS) to create a Nutrition Education Public Service Advertising (PSA) campaign. The Ad Council is a private, non-profit organization with a rich history of marshalling volunteer talent from the advertising and media industries to deliver critical messages to the American public. Having produced thousands of PSA campaigns addressing the most pressing social issues of the day, the Ad Council has affected, and continues to affect, tremendous positive change by raising awareness, inspiring action, and saving lives.

The USDA and the Ad Council have partnered to develop the Nutrition Education campaign to motivate moms and caregivers to provide better nutrition for their children. The two television and two radio ads, which are set to launch in April 2007, provide parents with an effective tool that can help them achieve this – specifically the new “Food Guidance System.” Viewers will be directed to www.mypyramid.gov for more information. The Ad Council secured the expertise of volunteer advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi who created and produced the PSAs on behalf of the Ad Council and the USDA. The PSAs encourage moms to learn more about ways they can improve the eating habits of their children by visiting a website or receiving other materials that provide information on healthy nutrition. The PSAs specifically target mothers and caregivers – with an emphasis on low-income – with children ages 2 to 12.

Purpose

The purpose of this data collection is to assess the impact of the Nutrition Education PSA Campaign. The results will be proprietary to the USDA, FNCS, and will not be shared with the public. The tracking results are critical in assessing trends among the target audience – mothers and caregivers – with an emphasis on low-income – of children ages 2 to 12. The information from the tracking survey will be used to evaluate specific factors such as general awareness of child nutrition, PSA awareness, and key nutrition and physical activity attitudes and behaviors throughout the length of the USDA’s public service campaign.

Tracking wave surveys are an important component of the campaign evaluation procedure. Tracking research allows us to gauge trends in the target audience’s awareness of the issue, awareness of the PSAs, and attitudes and behaviors related to the issue of providing nutrition education. A pre-wave survey will be conducted prior to the campaign’s launch to establish benchmark measurements and to determine any “ghost,” or false awareness of the PSAs. Post-wave surveys will be conducted two times throughout the campaign’s duration, or every 9-12 months. The comparison between the pre- and post-wave surveys will be analyzed to inform us of any awareness, attitudinal and behavioral shifts over time, among the public in general and among key demographic groups.

The objective of wave tracking is to measure over time:

• Whether or not the target audience is generally aware of the issue/importance of healthy nutrition for their child(ren).

• Whether or not the target audience is aware of the radio and/or television PSAs.

• The target audience’s attitudes regarding healthy nutrition for their child(ren).

• The target audiences behavior regarding healthy nutrition for their child(ren).

The studies will be conducted over the following time frame:

• Pre Wave – May 2007

• Post Wave 1 – April 2008

• Post Wave 2 – March 2009

Data Collection Methodology

The benchmark and post-wave tracking research data will be collected through telephone surveys operated by Robinson & Muenster Associates (RMA), a professional market research company. The surveys will be conducted over a two week period and will deliver statistically reliable results. The sample will include 500 moms and caregivers per wave (with an emphasis on lower income respondents). The sample will be provided by Survey Sampling International (SSI), who will provide a sample of households with females that have children ages 12 or younger and have a listed phone number.

For each survey wave, two samples will be drawn. One sample will be drawn from a densified population of low income households (whose household income is less than $35K) while the other will be drawn from a population of households with income greater than $35K. Both samples will be augmented to include an oversample of African American and Hispanic respondents in order to accurately analyze survey results based on these groups. All data will be weighted to reflect nationally representative statistics. RMA will use random-digit dial methodology to ensure equal likelihood of surveying all qualified listed households. RMA will field the survey and deliver the data. After each survey wave, the Ad Council will present a full report on findings and trends.

Sample requirements include:

• 500 moms or caregivers of with at least one child 2-12 years old per survey wave (which allow for a Margin of Error of ±5)

• Augmented for low income analyses (60% of respondents from homes with household income less than $35,000 (n= 300 per survey wave). Augmented for Hispanic (n=100 per survey wave) and African American (n= 100 per survey wave) respondents in order to analyze survey results by racial/ethic groups

Burden Estimate

It is estimated that the response burden for the tracking survey will be ten minutes per respondent. Thus, the total response burden will be 10 minutes (.167 hours) x 1,500 respondents (500 per wave x 3 waves), which equals 251 total hours over the length of the campaign.

The testing will involve no startup or operational costs to respondents.

Outcome

The tracking studies will be conducted one month prior to the distributions, beginning with the pre-wave study in April 2007. Each survey report will be disseminated to USDA one month after survey data is collected. The information obtained from the tracking report will be used to inform FNS decision makers to assist them in choosing next steps for the Public Advertising Campaign

8. Participants will be informed of privacy act provisions and the length of time required to answer the survey before the interview.

8. Federal Costs: $68,600.00

8. Requested Approval Date: April 20, 2006.

Contact Information

Questions regarding this data collection request can be directed to Jean Daniels at 703-305-2281 or Pat Seward at 703-305-2428.

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