0925-0634 NIA mini supporting statement A--family caregiver project 10 2 2102

Mini Supporting Statement A

Focus Groups with Family Caregivers

A.1 Circumstances Requiring the Collection of Data

This project will help support 42 USC 285e, in which the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) was established to improve the health and well being of older people through research and authorized to, “conduct and support [of] biomedical, social, and behavioral research, training, health information dissemination, and other programs with respect to the aging process and the diseases and other special problems and needs of the aged.” Based on this US Code, part of NIA’s mission is to communicate information about aging and advances in research on aging to the scientific community, health care providers, and the public.

To ensure that NIA’s Office of Communications and Public Liaison (OCPL) successfully develops and disseminates health communications on aging-related issues, NIA plans to conduct formative research with senior center staff, an important gatekeeper to older audiences.

A.2 Purposes and Uses of the Data

In this project, information will be collected through focus groups and a pre-focus group questionnaire. Family caregivers will be asked open-ended questions to determine (1) approaches that NIA’s OCPL can use to more effectively raise awareness of NIA’s free health and aging online information resources especially among family caregivers; (2) if family caregivers view NIA’s online resources as accessible, trustworthy and useful for communicating health and aging information with older family members or friends; and (3) if OCPL’s outlets for its outreach activities correspond with where family caregivers look for health and aging-related information for their aging parents and other older family members. The pre-focus group questionnaire will be used to collect general background information about participants using mostly close-ended, multiple choice questions.

A.3 Use of Information Technology to Reduce Burden

As appropriate, automated information technology in the collection and processing of data will be used to reduce respondent burden and make processing data maximally efficient.

A.4 Efforts to Identify Duplication

Users will be asked to only participate in one focus group.

A.5. Small Business

As appropriate, NIA will work through established societies, such as caregiver support groups, to gain access to the caregivers, and obtain feedback on NIA’s instruments and data collection plans. As a result, NIA will be able to minimize the placement of additional burden on these community-based groups.

A.6 Consequences of Not Collecting the Information

Information about family caregivers’ perspective of NIA online materials and outreach strategies to raise awareness of NIA’s online information resources will be collected through this particular focus group project. Respondents will not be re-contacted. If NIA does not collect this information, NIA cannot adapt its outreach strategies to best meet the needs of family caregivers.

A7. Special Circumstances Justifying Inconsistencies with Guidelines in 5 C.F.R. 1320.5

Because NIA’s activities are primarily qualitative in nature, some results may not be generalizable to the population at large, but instead represent a significant portion of the particular audience under study, in this case family caregivers. However, the nature of formative research is such that generalizability is not a critical feature; the emphasis is on obtaining timely, useful information that can be fed back into the development of new health and aging online materials or outreach strategies or the revision of existing materials or strategies.

There are no other special circumstances.

A.8. Consultation Outside the Agency

The project will be administered by a contractor of NIA’s choosing (using an open announcement) and completed under close supervision of an NIA employee.

A.9. Payments or Gifts to Respondents

All respondents will receive modest remuneration at a flat rate. Participants will receive a $35 honorarium and a $15 travel reimbursement. Family caregivers have several demands on their time. This remuneration will be provided in order to defray the cost of participation in the focus groups (parking, transportation, child/elder care, etc.) and to provide participants with a nominal compensation. We have estimated participants’ hourly wage to be $30/hour; we will need 70 minutes of time, as outlined in A.12, equaling $35. Research on participation in focus groups indicates that, without providing minimal levels of monetary compensation, insufficient numbers of participants will attend and results will not be useful.

A.10. Assurance of Confidentiality

Individual respondents will not be identified and participation will be strictly voluntary. Respondents will be assured that neither their participation/non-participation nor any responses to items will have any effect on their eligibility for, or receipt of, services.

A.11 Questions of a Sensitive Nature

No questions will be asked of a personal or sensitive nature.

A.12 Estimates of Response of Burden

Estimates of Annualized Burden Hours
Forms	Number of Respondents	Frequency of Response	Average Response Time (in hrs)	Total Annual Hour Burden
Focus Group –Screening Form	60	1	10/60	10
Focus Group -Questions	60	1	1	60
Total				70

Estimated Annualized Cost to Respondents
Forms	Total Burden Hours		Hourly Wage Rate	Respondent Cost
Focus Group- Screening Form	10		$30.00	$300
Focus Group- Questions	60		$30.00	$1,800
Total	70			$2100

A.13. Estimate of Total Capital and Startup Costs/Operation and Maintenance Costs to Respondents or Record Keepers

There are no capital or start-up costs to the data collection efforts requested; nor are there any costs associated with operation, maintenance, or purchase of services.

A.14. Estimates of Costs to the Federal Government

The cost of this focus group project will not exceed $50,000

A.15. Changes in Burden

This is a new collection of information.

A.16. Plans for Publication, analysis and Schedule

The entire project, from hiring the contractor to completing the final report is estimated to take 45 weeks, or 11 months.

Week 1–week 5 (five weeks)	Hire contractor for evaluation project, establish final moderator guide
Week 3–week 7 (five weeks)	Secure space at D.C. and second location for focus groups/in-depth interview/other qualitative research method
Week 6 –week 11 (six weeks)	Finalize focus group conversation stimulation guide/interview questions/other research instrument and informed consent
Week 6 – week 15 (ten weeks)	Recruit participants
Week 16 – week 24 (nine weeks)	Conduct focus groups/in-depth interview/other qualitative research method
Week 25 – week 30 (six weeks)	Analyze data
Week 30 – week 41 (12 weeks)	Write report
Week 37	Draft of report to NIA for first revision
Week 39	Draft back to contractor for revision
Week 40 – week 43 (4 weeks)	Prepare presentation on study findings
Week 44	Final report and presentation due to NIA
Week 44	Prepare report for online publication

Results will be tabulated after the completion of the focus groups. Results of selected findings may be published in refereed journals and other publications within a timely fashion in order to contribute to literature.

A.17. Approval to Not Display Expiration Date

We are not requesting an exemption to the display of the OMB Expiration date.

A.18 Exceptions to Item 19 of OMB form 83-I

NIA is in full compliance with the provisions contained within the Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions in 5 CFR 1320.9.