Attachment E RecruitmentLetter6-29-09

ATTACHMENT E

Survey Invitation and Reminder Letters for First Survey

All letters will be printed on NIH letterhead or sent from an NIH e-mail address

Letter 1: Initial recruitment letter

FirstName LastName

Organization

Address

City, State Zip

Dear Ms/Mr. [NAME],

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) requests your participation in a survey of knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to HIV vaccine research. This study seeks feedback from people working in communities that are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. You were selected because of your association with [organization].

Your knowledge and opinions are very important to this study. Your answers will be combined with answers from other respondents, and the resulting information will be used to guide NIAID programs related to HIV vaccine research. Survey data may also be published in journals that will inform public policy.

Your answers to this survey will be kept private to the extent permitted by law; neither NIAID, staff from the NIAID HIV Vaccine Research Education Initiative, nor your employer will be informed of your answers, and all information will be maintained securely according to best practices for data security and privacy. Your answers will be stored separate from your identity, and reports based on survey data will involve information combined across all respondents; individual respondents will never be identified through reports or publications.

It will take about 20 minutes to complete this online survey, found at [Insert Survey URL].

In appreciation for your efforts, at the end of the survey, we will provide a code good for an immediate purchase of $25 at Amazon.com.

If you would prefer to complete the survey on paper or by telephone, please e-mail [email protected], or call (301) ###-####.

If you have any questions or comments regarding this study, please contact the study’s Project Director, Dan Eckstein at 301-986-1891 or [email protected], or e-mail me at [email protected].

Thank you for your valuable assistance with this worthy study.

Sincerely,

Katharine Kripke

Assistant Director, Vaccine Research Program

Division of AIDS, NIAID, NIH, DHHS

Letter 2: First nonresponse followup letter to individuals that have not completed the survey

FirstName LastName

Organization

Address

City, State Zip

Dear Ms/Mr. [NAME],

Several weeks ago we sent you an invitation requesting your participation in an important national survey about HIV vaccine research. If you have already completed this survey, which is sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), let me take this opportunity to thank you for your contribution to this vital research.

If you have not yet completed this survey, let me remind you of its importance.

In order to deliver culturally sensitive and effective programs, we rely on input from individuals like you who are working in communities that are highly impacted by HIV/AIDS. You were selected because of your association with [organization]. Your knowledge and opinions are critical to the guidance of NIAID programs.

Please complete this 20-minute survey related to HIV vaccine research as soon as possible. Your answers to this survey will be kept private to the extent permitted by law; neither NIAID, staff from the NIAID HIV Vaccine Research Education Initiative, or your employer will be informed of your answers, and all information will be maintained securely according to best practices for data security and privacy. Your answers will be stored separate from your identity, and reports based on survey data will involve information combined across all respondents; individual respondents will never be identified through reports or publications. At the end of the survey, you will be provided with a coupon code worth $25 to be used at Amazon.com.

To take the survey, please go to [Insert survey URL].

If you would prefer to complete the survey on paper or by telephone, please e-mail [email protected], or call (301) ###-####.

If you have any questions or comments regarding this study, please contact the study’s Project Director, Dan Eckstein at 301-986-1891 or [email protected], or e-mail me at [email protected].

Thank you for your valuable assistance with this study.

Sincerely,

Katharine Kripke

Assistant Director, Vaccine Research Program

Division of AIDS, NIAID, NIH, DHHS

Letter 3: Second nonresponse followup letter to individuals that have not completed the survey

FirstName LastName

Organization

Address

City, State Zip

Dear Ms/Mr. [NAME],

Over the last several months, we have been trying to reach you about completing an important survey about HIV vaccine research. The study is funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Findings will be used to guide NIAID programs in particular and public policy in general, particularly with respect to communities that are highly impacted by HIV/AIDS.

If you have already completed this survey, we have not received your data. Please e-mail us at [email protected] so we can clear up this issue. We greatly appreciate your assistance and apologize for any inconvenience.

If you have not yet completed this survey, please take just 20 minutes to fill it out. You were selected because of your association with [organization]. Without input from people like you who are working in communities that are highly impacted by HIV/AIDS, NIAID’s understanding of how to deliver culturally sensitive and effective programs is incomplete.

All of your responses are confidential, and at the end of the survey, you will be provided with a coupon code worth $25 at Amazon.com.

To take the survey, please go to [Insert survey URL].

If you would prefer to complete the survey on paper or by telephone, please e-mail [email protected], or call (301) ###-####.

If you have any questions or comments regarding this study, please contact the study’s Project Director, Dan Eckstein at 301-986-1891 or [email protected], or e-mail me at [email protected]..

Thank you for your valuable assistance with this worthy study.

Sincerely,

Katharine Kripke

Assistant Director, Vaccine Research Program

Division of AIDS, NIAID, NIH

Letter 4: Letter for individuals requesting a hard copy of the survey

FirstName LastName

Organization

Address

City, State Zip

Dear Ms/Mr. [NAME],

Thank you for requesting a hard copy of a survey on knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to HIV vaccine research. As you may know from our previous attempts to reach you, the study is sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

This study seeks feedback from people working in communities that are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. You were selected because of your association with [organization]. Findings will be used to guide NIAID programs in particular and public policy in general, particularly with respect to communities that are highly impacted by HIV/AIDS.

Your knowledge and opinions are very important to this study. Your answers will be combined with answers from other respondents, and the resulting summary statistics will be used to guide NIAID programs related to HIV/AIDS vaccination. Survey data may also be published in journals that will inform public policy.

Your answers to this survey will be kept private to the extent permitted by law; neither NIAID, NHVREI, or your employer will be informed of your answers, and all information will be maintained securely according to best practices for data security and privacy. Your answers will be stored separate from your identity, and reports based on survey data will involve information combined across all respondents.; individual respondents will never be identified through reports or publications.

Please complete and mail this survey back in the enclosed envelope as soon as possible. After we have received your survey responses, we will mail you a gift certificate worth $25 at Amazon.com.

If you have any questions or comments regarding this study, please contact the study’s Project Director, Dan Eckstein at 301-986-1891 or [email protected].

Thank you for your valuable assistance with this worthy study.

Sincerely,

Katharine Kripke

Assistant Director, Vaccine Research Program

Division of AIDS, NIAID, NIH, DHHS