0925-0643_Generic Template_NICHD Postpartum Depression Focus Groups_final

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 0925-0643)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: NICHD Postpartum Depression (PPD) Focus Groups

PURPOSE:

Research has shown that about 85% of women experience a disturbance in mood during the immediate postpartum period. These symptoms are mild and short-lived for most women. However, 10% to 15% of women develop more significant symptoms of depression or anxiety, known as postpartum depression.

The symptoms of postpartum depression include: depressed or sad mood, tearfulness, loss of interest in usual activities, feelings of guilt, feelings of worthlessness or incompetence, fatigue, sleep disturbance, change in appetite, poor concentration, significant anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. While all women, regardless of age, race/ethnicity, marital status, education level, or socioeconomic status, may be vulnerable to postpartum depression, some risk factors may play a role in the causation of postpartum depression including previous episodes of postpartum depression, depression during pregnancy, history of depression or bipolar disorder, marital problems, inadequate social supports, and/or recent stressful life events.

The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) National Child and Maternal Health Education Program (NCMHEP) would like to learn about the processes of identifying symptoms of and seeking treatment for postpartum depression as well as gain insight into the role of male spouses/partners.

The goals of the proposed focus group research are to better understand the target audiences’:

• Knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs related to postpartum depression.

• Reactions to initial informational and outreach messages related to postpartum depression.

• Suggestions for effective communication channels and venues in which to raise awareness of postpartum depression.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

This project will focus on the following target audiences:

1. Recent mothers of diverse geographic locations, income and education levels, and levels of social support. For the purpose of this project, recent mothers will be defined as those who have at least one child less than 5 years of age. The project will focus on the following:

   1. African American mothers

   2. Asian American mothers

   3. Hispanic/Latina mothers

   4. American Indian (Native American) and Alaska Native mothers

2. Recent mothers, of diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds, geographic locations, income and education levels and diverse levels of social support, with a postpartum depression diagnosis.

3. Male spouses/partners of the above two target audiences.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

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

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

[X] 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: ___Jamelle E. Banks______________________________

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

3. If Applicable, has a System or Records Notice been published? [ ] Yes [ ] No

Gifts or Payments:

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

Respondents will receive remuneration through recruitment companies contracted to obtain participants. The amount of remuneration is based on pay scales these companies follow. Based on feedback from recruitment professionals, caregivers will receive $40 for participating in a 90-minute in-person focus group and $20 for participating in a 60-minute telephone focus group.

It is standard practice in commercial market research to offer recruited respondents some form of remuneration for the time they spend engaged in a focus group. Small amounts of money, a free meal or snack scheduled around the time of the focus group, and/or remuneration for parking and/or transportation are most often used.

There is extensive literature to support the use of incentives, primarily monetary incentives, as a supplement or complement to other efforts of encouragement to ensure recruitment of a representative sample, especially among not-yet-served and minority populations.^1,2 In studies for both commercial market research and social sciences, findings indicate that respondents who receive these tokens of appreciation provide valid input, and their inclusion makes for a more representative sample.

BURDEN HOURS

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time (in hours)	Total Burden Hours
Individuals or Households (telephone)	72	1	72
Individuals or Households (in-person)	24	90/60	36
Totals	96		108

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is $15,000.

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? [X] Yes [ ] No

If the answer is yes, please provide a description of both below (or attach the sampling plan)? If the answer is no, please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them?

Using a structured recruitment screener, a professional recruitment vendor will identify eligible participants, contact them by telephone, explain the focus group study, invite them to participate, and schedule their focus group participation. The recruitment facility will recruit 12 individuals for each of the focus groups with the aim of accepting a maximum of 9 per focus group. (Qualitative research experience has shown that no-show rates for focus groups are typically about 20%).

Focus group participants will offer their verbal consent to participate and be audio-recorded at the beginning of the focus group discussion. First names (or fake names) only (no last names) will be used during the focus group discussions to maintain anonymity. Only one project member will have access to the list of full participant names that will be kept in a password-protected computer and locked file drawer.

The recruitment facility maintains a database of people who have participated in previous focus groups and/or who have volunteered to take part in research. This database includes demographic information such as gender, age, education, and job status. Using the approved screener criteria (e.g., recent mothers, recent mothers with a postpartum depression diagnosis, husbands/male partners of those women), the firm will contact individuals in the database to identify focus group participants. If additional people need to be identified, the recruitment firm will reach out to appropriate organizations such as National Child and Maternal Health Education Program (NCMHEP) partners in the identification of potential focus group participants.

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

[X] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other, Explain

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

Please make sure that all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.

1 Singer E and Kulka RA. Paying respondents for survey participation. In Ver Ploeg M,.Moffitt RA, Citro CF (eds). Studies of Welfare Populations: Data collection and Research Issues. National Academy Press: Washington, DC 2001. Available at http://www.nap.edu/openbook/0309076234/html. Accessed on May 13, 2008.

2 Kovac MD, Markesich J. Tiered incentive payments: getting the most bang for your buck. Presentation at the Annual Conference of the American Association for Public Research, 2002.

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