The Initial Vanguard Study protocol was designed to enroll approximately 1,750 pregnant women through seven study locations after 12 months of data collection. Two of the locations began recruitment in January 2009 and the remaining 5 in April 2009. As of May 2010, however, approximately 900 pregnant women have been enrolled, leading to questions about the assumptions underlying the Initial Vanguard Study recruitment model. The seven Initial Vanguard sites use a household enumeration and screening strategy to identify eligible women for recruitment into the study. Although household enumeration is often considered a gold standard for maximizing coverage, in that all dwelling units are identified and enumerated, for the NCS Initial Vanguard Study this method has not yielded the target number of births in the time frame projected from initial models. Consequently, additional methodological research is needed to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and cost of alternate recruitment strategies for enrollment of pregnant women into the NCS. This research will be conducted through the NCS Recruitment Substudy. The Recruitment Substudy will assess three alternate recruitment strategies - (1) a provider-based recruitment strategy; (2) an enhanced version of a household enumeration strategy; and (3) a two-tier recruitment strategy involving high-intensity and low-intensity data collection efforts.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
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(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
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Two-Tier (High): Birth Visit Interview