Supporting Statement B for Request for Clearance:
OMB 0920- New
National Survey of Prison Health Care (NSPHC)
Contact Information:
Carol DeFrances, Ph.D.
Lead Statistician, Hospital Care Team
Ambulatory and Hospital Care Statistics Branch
Division of Health Care Statistics
National Center for Health Statistics/CDC
3311 Toledo Road
Hyattsville, MD 20782
301-458-4440
301-458-4032 (fax)
May 7, 2012
National Survey of Prison Health Care (NSPHC)
B. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods
1. Respondent Universe and Sampling Methods
The NSPHC will gather information from the universe of State Departments of Corrections (DOC) and the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). The District of Columbia (DC) is not targeted due to the fact that since 2001 all sentenced felons in DC are placed in the BOP system. In order to determine the appropriate respondent, NCHS will rely on BJS to provide a contact list of persons within state departments of corrections who are respondents to annual BJS data collections to serve as an initial point of contact. Once an individual is contacted they will be briefed on the content of the NSPHC and asked if they would be able to provide the data in the NSPHC. If not, they will be asked to provide the name and contact information of either the person or persons who could provide the data or another person who could determine the appropriate respondent(s) for the NSPHC telephone survey. Surveying the entire universe is preferred since the structure of prison health care delivery systems are expected to vary between states and BOP.
2. Procedures for the Collection of Information
Once the survey is approved, the NSPHC introduction letter (Attachment E) will be mailed directly to the prison officials identified from respondent research. The introduction letter will explain the purpose of the data collection, topics covered, and the voluntary nature of survey.
NCHS project staff will then contact the identified respondent in order to administer the telephone survey, or to schedule an appointment for the interview at a later time. If any information cannot be provided at the time of the interview, a follow-up email correspondence will take place to gather as much data as possible. If any information cannot be provided by the current respondent in any capacity, the NCHS interviewer will request contact information for other respondents who may be able to provide the requested information.
The NSPHC interview guide is Attachment F. The questions asked by the interviewer will attempt to address the following topic areas:
NSPHC will collect data on the utilization of contracts to provide health care services, health care staffing, provision of both general and specialty health care services, on and off-site or through telemedicine; and the provision of preventive health services (including infectious disease tests and mental health screens) during the admissions process. Because of the semi-structured nature of the NSPHC, the interviewer will be able to discuss the data that is being collected to gain a better understanding of the capacity for the systems to provide the data, as well as their ability to provide additional data on capacity and utilization of services. In addition, we will have the opportunity to better understand the details of a prison system’s admissions process and major challenges the prison system faces in regards to the delivery of health care.
The NSPHC is not a sample survey but a census, therefore, statistical methods for stratification and sample selection and estimation procedures do not apply.
A data dictionary containing categories and specifications for all variables will be created. From the specifications in the data dictionary, a data entry program will be created by the Division of Health Care Statistics (DHCS) staff. Quality control measures will include range checks in the data entry program to ensure that erroneous codes are not mistakenly entered. Additionally, all data collected from each survey will be keyed by a staff member and then rekeyed by a different staff member. Data keyed from the two separate entries will be compared and all discrepancies adjudicated. The statistical programs SAS and SPSS will be employed for data analysis.
3. Methods to Maximize Response Rates and Deal with Non-response
DOC and BOP respondents identified through respondent research phone calls will be mailed an introduction letter signed by Edward Sondik, Director, NCHS. The letter will describe the collaboration between NCHS and BJS on this project. In terms of recruitment, NCHS and BJS bring national credibility and influence. Specifically, BJS has built relationships with Commissioners and Directors within the departments of correction to ensure participation in numerous BJS non-mandated annual data collections. Respondents to these collections understand the importance of the data that BJS collects which in turn has yielded high response rates. These same respondents will be the initial point of contact for the NSPHC. Additionally, the use of a semi-structured interview will allow for multiple respondents, which in turn could boost response rates.
4. Tests of Procedures and Methods to Be Undertaken
Prior to fielding the national survey to all 50 state DOCs and the BOP, a pilot test involving six DOCs was conducted in Fall-Winter 2011. The purpose of the pilot test was to identify ambiguities in questions, definitions, and instructions, understand systems’ capacity to provide the requested data and determine burden. In the pilot study we received high item response, but through follow-up debriefings learned that while the survey questions were clear overall and caused little problem for the respondents to answer, it was determined that a paper-based, mail-in questionnaire would not be sufficient to fully understand the capacity for these systems to provide the data and the quality of the data being provided. The approach of NSPHC was shifted to a semi-structured telephone interview, which would allow for not only the collection of data, but also an evaluation of the quality of the data, as well as capturing qualitative information on how health-related data is organized and maintained in DOC’s. The original paper and pencil survey was adapted to fit a semi-structured interview style. Changes made included the addition/removal of specific terminology to clarify intent, the restructuring of the order in which questions are asked to first capture structure of prison health care delivery systems, and the removal of detailed sub-questions to allow for follow up questions on capacity to provide data and ability to report data on capacity and utilization of health services.
Once approval is received from OMB, respondents identified in all 50 states and BOP will be sent the induction letter and then contacted for the interview. To ease the burden for those DOCs involved in the pilot test, answers to questions they have already answered will be pre-filled before the interview. For those questions, respondents will only have to review and verify the data and responses.
5. Individuals Consulted on Statistical Aspects and Individuals Collecting and/or Analyzing Data
The persons responsible for the data collection and statistical and analytic aspects of the survey are:
Carol DeFrances, Ph.D.
Lead Statistician, Hospital Care Team
Ambulatory and Hospital Care Statistics Branch
Division of Health Care Statistics
National Center for Health Statistics
(301) 458-4440
Kristen Miller, Ph.D.
Director, Questionnaire Design Research Laboratory
National Center for Health Statistics
3311 Toledo Road
Hyattsville, Maryland
(301) 458-4625
ATTACHMENTS
A: Legislative Authority
B:
Expert Meeting Attendees
C: Copy of Official 60-day Notice
D: Public Comments for 60-day Notice
E: NSPHC Introduction Letter
F: NSPHC Interview Guide
G: NCHS Ethics Review Board Exemption Approval Form
| File Type | application/msword |
| File Title | OMB |
| Author | Christine |
| Last Modified By | CDC User |
| File Modified | 2012-05-09 |
| File Created | 2012-05-09 |