Nida-a OMB

Supporting Statement for Monitoring and Evaluation of the National Institute on Drug Abuse NIDA Goes Back to School National Dissemination Campaign

Section A

Introduction

A.1. Circumstances Making the Collection of Information Necessary

 

 

The purpose of this information collection is to determine the level of use of materials by individuals requesting copies of the NIDA Goes Back To School materials. These materials are the school-focused publications on preventing drug abuse, that were developed by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) launched an initiative to increase awareness of the Institute and its mission to bring the power of science to bear on the treatment and prevention of drug abuse and addiction. NIDA has been developing science education materials for grades K-12 for use by students, teachers, parents, school counselors, school health educators, school resources officers, community organizers, and state and local government agencies. A campaign was subsequently launched to get these materials out to those who could use them.

The NIDA Goes Back to School (NGBTS), campaign was launched to promote NIDA as the source for science-based information on drug abuse and prevention for school-aged children, and to promote the new “NIDA for Teens” web site. This campaign highlighted opportunities to order science-based materials from NIDA. These materials aim to teach children about drug abuse consequences and shape their behavior in positive ways.

The cost of the campaign and monitoring and responding to requests is an average of $313,000.0 annually. NIDA tracks and analyzes the number of requestors of materials resulting from dissemination activities, as well as the number of requestors that have not been intervened by these activities (an average of 7,500 requestors annually). These large numbers indicate that the dissemination reach is considerable, and it is important to know if the materials requested are being used. In 2005, NIDA conducted a feasibility study to determine if the NGBTS campaign should undergo an outcome evaluation. The study found that there are different barriers to using materials at the schools. This demonstrates the need for information collection to examine use of the materials. It would be important to know if any barriers stem from the materials themselves, or from dissemination, so that these could be revised and improved for greater effectiveness from the campaign. NIDA will work with the Contractor in this information collection for program/campaign improvement.

This request for information is authorized by 42 U.S.C. § 285o.

A.2. Purpose and Use of the Information

 

NIDA has been developing science education materials for grades K-12 for use by students, teachers, parents, school counselors, school health educators, school resources officers, community organizers, and state and local government agencies. This campaign was launched as a pro-active effort to get these materials out to those who could use them. The cost to NIDA of this campaign, monitoring and responding to requests for dissemination materials, is an average of $313,000.0 annually. The campaign serves an average of 7,500 requestors annually. NIDA needs to determine if these resources are being used and that this expense of resources is achieving maximum effectiveness. The purpose of this information collection is to determine the level of use of the NGBTS materials by two groups of requestors – school personnel requestors, and community leader requestors. The information to be collected will enable NIDA to determine if the NGBTS materials are being used, and what barriers to use of the materials are being reported by requestors. The information will also enable NIDA to determine what has been the difference in use level in each year of the campaign. It will enable NIDA to examine what difference in use level between those requestors responding to a campaign activity and those requestors who were not intervened by campaign activities. All of this information will be used in program decision-making to improve the campaign, and to ensure that there is effectiveness from the use of resources.

The information collection instruments will be pre-tested on 9 individuals that would include, the NIDA Science Education Coordinator, persons at the NIH Office of Science Education, and school personnel currently participating in joint education dissemination activities with NIDA. The pilot instruments will be mailed to the pre-testers, and they will be asked to download and complete a paper copy. Subsequently the participants will call in to a conference call to offer comments and feedback on the instruments. The analyzed results from the pre-test will be used to refine the final instruments.

A.3. Use of information Technology and Burden Reduction

 

To reduce respondent burden and to improve data quality, 100% of the information will be collected on line. Participants will not have the burden of the time involved in using other mail systems to return their responses. Email requests for Participants’ participation will be made, with electronic attachment(s) explaining the study, purpose of information collection, use of information, the non-personal nature of the information, the protection of information with blinding, and analyses to be conducted in the aggregate only. The collection of information online will speed data analysis: information will be available as soon as respondents answer, without the delay involved in awaiting responses via other mail and contact methods. Online data collection will also decrease the chance of data entry error, since no separate data entry will be required. Data will be logged in real time as participants complete the forms.

This survey technology used will be user-friendly for respondents. Either a choice of a popup invitation generator to maximize the response rate, or an automated email notification will be used, to obtain a high response rate. A list management tool to track respondents will be used. NIDA would use the method that constitutes the least burden on respondents. It will be an economical means of information collection for NIDA. It will minimize response error, and reporting error.

A.4. Efforts to Identify Duplication and Use of Similar Information

NIDA conducts monitoring of the requests for the NGBTS campaign materials. These requestor forms have the following information items that must be completed in order to serve the requestor with the desired materials: First Name, Last Name, Job Title, School/Organization, Mailing Address, Phone, Email.

As can be seen the information items do not include information on use of the materials. Consequently this information is unique to NIDA, and there is no possibility of duplication of information. If an individual school used the materials then use information may be in the records of the school, or in the records of community programs, but it is not available at NIDA. It is information that NIDA needs to improve the program and increase the desired outcomes from dissemination.

A.5. Impact on Small Businesses or Other Small Entities

No additional small businesses will be involved in our research. This project is funded by NIDA and NIH 1 percent Evaluation set-aside funds. Study participants are requestors of NIDA’s NGBTS materials who may or may not have been intervened with NIDA’s NGBTS campaign activities that seek to promote NIDA as the source for science-based information on drug abuse and prevention for school-aged children, and to promote the new “NIDA for Teens” web site. NIDA conducts this campaign with the assistance of a Contractor, that has the unique experience of working with this requestor population, providing response services to this population, monitoring the requests for materials over time, and analyzing the volume of materials requested each year, and in response to the dissemination activities.

A.6. Consequences of Collecting the Information Less Frequently

This is a one-time (and first-time) survey done in the manner of program evaluation. It is being conducted after the dissemination campaign and resource spending has been on-going for more that 3 years. It will contribute needed information to improve the campaign, and decision-making for the campaign and the use of resources. If this information collection is not conducted, the campaign may be continued without knowing if the materials are being used as intended by the dissemination activities; without knowing if the promotion and materials distribution are being effective, and without knowing that the materials may be more useful if they were presented differently, published differently. It is not anticipated that respondents will answer more than once during the study. From experience of monitoring the requestor forms, the subject population is compliant with the information requested on the forms, and it is anticipated that they will answer the information collection completely. Plans for the information collection are that (1) requestors in the survey sample will be contacted with a letter of invitation that includes the URL for the survey instrument site, (2) an email reminder one week later, and (3) a second email reminder one week after that.

A.7. Special Circumstances Relating to the Guidelines of 5CFR 1320.5

This proposed information collection fully complies with all guidelines of 5 CFR 1320.5.

 A.8. Comments in Response to the Federal Register Notice and Efforts to Consult Outside Agency

This is a new collection, and it will be designed to obtain information on the use of NIDA’s NGBTS materials that were developed and are being disseminated to school communities, and community leaders. The 60-Day Federal Register notice was published on January 30, 2007. No comments from the public were received. No external consultants have been used for this collection. In 2005 NIDA hired an external evaluation contractor to conduct an evaluation feasibility study to determine if the dissemination campaign should be subjected to an outcome evaluation. The study found that there were many barriers to use of the NGBTS materials. This finding guided the present decision for this information collection to examine the levels of use, the barriers to use, the difference in use each year.

A.9. Explanation of Any Payment of Gift to Respondents

Respondents will not receive an incentive to participate in the survey. There will be no payment of gift to respondents It is anticipated that response rates will be high due to the fact that all respondents have received free NGBTS materials in the past, and will be positively disposed to assisting NIDA.

A.10. Assurance of Confidentiality Provided to Respondents

This information collection will use the identification and email address/employment address/mailing address of requestors from the existing database of requests for NGBTS materials. Verification of the place of work information will be requested in this collection. The information provided will be kept confidential, similar to the confidentiality maintained for the database of requestors. The information will not be disclosed to anyone but the NIDA Project Officer, the NIDA Evaluator and P&E Officer on the project, and the Contractor assisting in the conduct of the study. But no person identification information such as SSN #, Credit Card Account #, etc., or any data that are classified as sensitive are being used. Additionally, the original database and IT applications are protected from the outside world by firewalls. Any printed out information will be maintained at the Contractor’s facilities, and similarly kept secure as is presently done with requestor forms and information printed from the website. During analysis, data will be aggregated in such a way that no personally identifiable information can be obtained from all data reports or any presentation. All electronic and paper data pertaining to identifiable data on participants will be securely stored for three years, in keeping with NIH requirements, then purged unless otherwise directed by NIDA.

A.11. Justification for Sensitive Questions.

The proposed information collection does not involve asking respondents sensitive questions. No information about personal use or behavior related to any sensitive topic will be asked. The questions will be entirely of administrative-type information in the use of the NIDA NGBTS materials.

 

A.12. Estimates of Hour Burden including Annualized Hourly Costs.

Table 1 below shows the estimated burden of hours requested for this project, based on Contractor input and previous testing of the website with fewer than 10 respondents.

 

Table 1. Estimated Total Burden Hours Requested

Type of Respondents	Number of Respondents	Frequency of Response	Average Burden Hours per Response	Estimated Total Burden Hours Requested
Requestors – School Personnel	600	1	0.08	48
Requestors – Community Leaders	600	1	0.08	48
Total	1200			96

 

 

Table 2. Annualized Cost to Respondents

Type of Respondents	Number of Respondents	Frequency of Response	Hourly Wage Rate	Per Respondent Cost
Requestors – School Personnel	600	1	$114	$9.1
Requestors – Community Leaders	600	1	$114	$9.1
Total	1200

A.12.1. Number of Respondents, Frequency of Response, and Annual Hour Burden

From previous testing of the NGBTS Requestor site and others equivalent sections

of the NGBTS website, it is estimated that each survey instrument will take five

minutes or less to complete.

 

A.12.2. Hour Burden Estimates by Each Form and Aggregate Hour Burdens

 

Table 1. Estimated Total Burden Hours Requested

Type of Respondents	Number of Respondents	Frequency of Response	Average Burden Hours per Response	Estimated Total Burden Hours Requested
Requestors – School Personnel	600	1	0.08	48
Requestors – Community Leaders	600	1	0.08	48
Total	1200			96

 

 

 

     A.12.3. Estimates of Annualized Cost to Respondents for the Hour Burdens

Table 2. Annualized Cost to Respondents

Type of Respondents	Number of Respondents	Frequency of Response	Hourly Wage Rate	Per Respondent Cost
Requestors – School Personnel	600	1	$114	$9.1
Requestors – Community Leaders	600	1	$114	$9.1
Total	1200

 

A.13. Estimates of Other Total Annual Cost Burden to Respondents or Record keepers.

There are no capital, start-up, operational, or maintenance costs to the respondents in providing the information required by this research.

A.14. Annualized Cost to the Federal Government

All costs will be covered by the NIH Evaluation Set-Aside funded award #06-712 NIDA. The total cost to the federal government of this information collection and its analysis is $30,000.00.This cost covers all aspects of the project tasks, including pilot testing the instrument, finalizing it with recommendations included, developing the sampling plan, sampling the requestor groups of the study, conducting the information collection, follow-up emailing of respondents that did not return the survey form , data preparation and processing of the information, preparation of the draft report and presentation, finalizing with recommendations included in the final report and presentation, presenting the study results, maintaining the data and information obtained for the stated time as needed.

A.15. Explanation for Program Changes or Adjustments

This is a new collection of information.

A.16. Plans for Tabulation and Publication and Project Time Schedule

This project will require a maximum of 6 months from January 2007 - July 2007. The time line provided in the Table below is based upon the assumption that OMB clearance for the information collection is received by February 2007. There will be no publication of results, a final report will be printed for limited and internal distribution.

Table 3. Projected Timeline

Project Time Schedule
Activity	Time Schedule
Briefing Statement, work plan, review questionnaires	End of week 1
Prepare sampling plan for stratified random sampling, revise questionnaires, finalize	End of week 3
Conduct pilot tests, Conduct telephone conference for comments and feed-back, Conduct sample selection, with limited over-sampling for non-respondent substitutes	End of week 6
Review results and recommendations from pilot	End of week 7
Prepare email request for survey participation	End of week 9
Upload finalized questionnaires, send out	End of week 10
Follow-up and re-follow-up emails to nonrespondents as needed	End of weeks 13 and 14
Conduct survey, (over determined survey period)	Beginning Week 11
Conduct data processing, analysis, draft final report, Powerpoint presentation	End of week 18

 

All results will be reported to the NIDA Project Officer as required by the Contractor. The study is exploratory, and inferential analysis of information is not anticipated at this time. Analyses will be descriptive. Tabulation of data gathered during the pilot test will not involve the use of inferential statistical methods. There are no hypotheses from the study at this time.

 

A.17. Reason(s) Display of OMB Expiration Date is Inappropriate.

The OMB expiration date will be displayed on all instruments.

A.18. Exceptions to Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions.

There are no exceptions to the certification statement identified in OMB Form 83-I, Item 19, “Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions.”