#33_REVISED Fast-Track_SSA User Simulation

Request for Approval under the

“Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (NCI)

(OMB Control Number: 0925-0642-33, Expiration Date 9/30/2014)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: User Simulation Study for NIH-SSA Collaboration to Improve Disability Determination (Revised)

PURPOSE:

The Rehabilitation Medicine Department (RMD) at the NIH Clinical Center is currently working with the Social Security Administration (SSA) through a multiyear, inter-agency agreement (IAA). The IAA, established in 2008, provides support for the RMD to conduct research focused on improving the SSA’s disability determination process through the creation of new computer software that more accurately and efficiently assesses disability. The proposed usability study will examine the utility, functionality, and effect of the Computer Adaptive Tests (CAT) assessment software during real-life SSA disability application intake process. The study aims to identify and resolve potential tool utility/functionality issues prior to further instrument development and internal program management planning. The ultimate goal is to improve future service delivery of the SSA disability intake process.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

There are two types of respondents:

• SSA claims representatives and service representatives (CR/SRs) (Federal employees) will be selected based on those who volunteer.

• SSA claimants. Eligibility criteria include:

  • age 21 years old or older as of the application date of the initial disability claim, and

  • able to read, write and speak English.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

[ ] Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form [ ] Customer Satisfaction Survey

[X] Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software) [ ] Small Discussion Group

[ ] Focus Group [ ] Other:_________________

CERTIFICATION:

I certify the following to be true:

1. The collection is voluntary.

2. The collection is low-burden for respondents and low-cost for the Federal Government.

3. The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other federal agencies.

4. The results are not intended to be disseminated to the public.

5. Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy decisions.

6. The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have experience with the program or may have experience with the program in the future.

Name: ________Diane Brandt________________________________________

To assist review, please provide answers to the following question:

Personally Identifiable Information:

1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [ ] Yes [X] No

2. If Yes, will any information that is collected be included in records that are subject to the Privacy Act of 1974? [ ] Yes [ ] No

3. If Yes, has an up-to-date System of Records Notice (SORN) been published? [ ] Yes [ ] No

Though the SSA collects PII when claimants complete disability applications, PII will not be collected or stored for this study since the purpose is to examine usability of the instruments in the setting for which they are being developed. All data that is captured electronically in the CAT will be deleted nightly and no claimant responses to the questions will be retained. Claimants are informed that their answers will not be part of their application and that some of the questions may be similar to ones they have already answered.

Gifts or Payments:

Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants? [ ] Yes [X] No

BURDEN HOURS

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time (in hours)	Total Burden (in hours)
Individuals	125	30/60*	63

*The attachments include a list of all the questions that could potentially be asked. Because of the adaptive nature of the application, a claimant may be asked to respond to anywhere from 5 to 30 questions to complete the instruments. This application will take into account the person’s previous responses to choose the next question and number of remaining questions.

Since CRs or SRs are Federal employees acting as part of their job duties during the participation of this study, the burden hours for their participation is not calculated in the above table.

Total Burden Hours used for IC’s to date: 1,794

Total Burden Hours Approved for IC’s under 0925-0642: 8,750

Total Burden Hours currently requested: 63

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is _$40,904___

If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please provide answers to the following questions:

The selection of your targeted respondents

1. Do you have a customer list or something similar that defines the universe of potential respondents and do you have a sampling plan for selecting from this universe? [ ] Yes [X] No

SSA will provide 4 SSA Field Offices from a total of 1,297 field offices in the nation, who will participate in this study. Once identified, a one hour on-site teaching and training seminar for 3 to 5 CR/SRs at each participating field office site will be conducted.

There are approximately three million new SSA applicants per year. Each CR/SRs will attempt to recruit 3 to 5 individual claimants each. Therefore depending on the number of CRs or SRs, and claimants that participate, the target sample size of claimant CAT completions desired will be between 27 and 125 respondents. The CR/SRs will discuss the study with eligible claimants. The SSA claimants will be informed that their participation is completely voluntary and participation will not affect their disability determination outcome, now or in the future. The claimants will also be informed that the research will not analyze their responses and the data collected during this process will not be retained.  The objective is to assess the usability of the CAT software during real-life SSA disability application processes.

The CR/SRs will interview the SSA claimants and input their answers into the CAT. Two instruments will be tested for the CAT – the behavioral health and the physical function instruments. Additionally, a debriefing instrument with the CR/SRs will be used to identify confusion about the CATs or their administration, feedback regarding user burden and perceived difficulty answering the CAT items, and feedback regarding any suggestions to ease the implementation of asking these questions within SSA field offices. Thus, information is gathered about everyday functioning from SSA claimants and feedback on usability of the CAT instruments from the federal employees who are administering the survey.

The information collected targets opinions from SSA claims representatives who will be testing the new software since they are the individuals who currently collect this type of information from claimants during the disability application process.  SSA applicants will not be queried about their impressions of the new software since it is the CRs/SRs who will be using the instruments and reading the questions to the claimants.  The small number of additional questions asked of claimants about their everyday functioning will be relatively unnoticeable to them since they are similar to questions already asked by SSA claims representatives.

Administration of the Instrument

1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)

[ ] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[X] Telephone (for claimants who choose to telephone the office)

[X] In-person (for claimants who come to the office)

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other, Explain

2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [X] Yes [ ] No

The interviewers will be conducted by Federal employees (the SSA claims representatives and service representatives (CR/SRs)).

List of instruments, instructions, and scripts submitted with this request:

Attachment A: List¹ of all Behavioral Health CAT Questions

Attachment B: List of all Physical Function CAT Questions

Attachment C: CAT Initial Screenshot

Attachment D: IRB Exemption Letter

Attachment E: Debriefing Interview Questions for Federal Employees

1 Attachments A & B include a list of all the questions that could potentially be asked. Because of the adaptive nature of the Computer Adaptive Tests (CAT), these surveys are not standardized and will vary depending on the claimant’s responses. Future questions are determined by previous responses and thus the length of the survey can vary from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on how the claimant responds. All questions will come from Attachments A and B (i.e., the item banks) and no other questions will be added.

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