Justification for Change

Evaluation of CDC’s National Contact Center - CDC-INFO

(OMB No. 0920-0753)

We would like to request a change to OMB No 0920-0753, the evaluation of CDC’s National Contact Center, CDC-INFO.

This change would reinstate CDC-INFO’s Live Phone Follow-up Survey (Attachment A & B) to the current OMB package, revised and approved in 2010. The Live Phone Follow-up Survey was originally included and approved in the first CDC-INFO Information Collection Request in 2007. No changes have been made to the survey since it was first approved. The estimated number of persons who participated in this survey each year was 3,125. The survey length was 7 minutes, with a yearly burden of 365 hours.

The evaluation approach in the current OMB package was streamlined to accommodate CDC budgets reductions; many of the survey instruments in the previously approved clearance were eliminated with the exception of two surveys: The Interactive Voice Response Survey (English & Spanish) and the Web Survey for E-Mail Inquiries (English & Spanish). The current estimated annualized burden hours in the package (OMB No.0920-0753) is 6,206.

CDC-INFO uses these OMB-approved surveys to determine the level of quality assurance in our responses and the satisfaction of our customers; however the Live Phone Follow-up Survey enables CDC-INFO to measure the impact of the information it provides in influencing health-related behavior on call and email inquirers. Due to a slight oversight CDC-INFO discontinued administering the survey though it was later revealed that the survey results provided data for a key performance measure and objective identified under the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA).

Justification for Reinstatement

Increasingly, the dissemination of health and safety information plays a critical role in the Nation’s efforts to prevent and control diseases, injury and disabilities. CDC has initiated many successful health communication efforts to educate, inform, and improve health outcomes of the general public. CDC-INFO is an integrated approach to the delivery of public health information designed to contribute to improving healthy behaviors among the public and reinforce the need for prevention

In FY 2010, 44 percent of call back survey respondents from a sample of 3,063 indicated that what they had learned from CDC-INFO made them consider changing their behavior and of those, 80 percent reported they had actually made a behavior change (CDC, 2010). The most common behavior changes included reducing risky sexual behavior and getting immunized. In FY 2009, 48.4 percent of call-back survey respondents from a sample of 3,512 indicated that what they had learned from CDC-INFO made them want to change their behavior and of those 81.7 percent reported they had made a behavior change (CDC, 2010). The most common behavior changes made included reducing risky sexual behaviors, exercising better hygiene, and getting immunized. Prior to the consolidation of over 40 individual programs into CDC-INFO, none of this information was collected, so the public health impact of CDC’s phone and email services provided was not previously known.

According to the United States Department of Labor, the purposes of the GPRA act are to - (1) improve the confidence of the American people in the capability of the Federal Government, by systematically holding Federal agencies accountable for achieving program results; (2) improve Federal program effectiveness and public accountability by promoting a new focus on results, service quality, and customer satisfaction;(3) help Federal managers improve service delivery, by requiring that they plan for meeting program objectives and by providing them with information about program results and service quality; and (4) improve congressional decision making by providing more objective information on achieving statutory objectives, and on the relative effectiveness and efficiency of Federal programs and spending.

Due to CDC’s long term communication objectives listed under the GPRA act, the reinstatement of the Live Phone Follow-up Survey is necessary in order to continue collecting self-reported behavior change. Reporting the percentage of inquirers making behavioral changes as a result of information gained from their experience with CDC-INFO is a key outcome of our evaluation efforts. Response to the survey questions will measure access and reach of CDC’s scientific health information and prevention messages among key audiences to maximize health impact.