Request for Approval

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 0920-0956)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION:

Web Survey to Test sample materials developed using the CDC Clear Communication Index

PURPOSE:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) seeks to obtain Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval to collect user feedback of sample materials developed using the CDC Clear Communication Index (or exemplar materials). The CDC Office of the Associate Director for Communication (OADC) developed the Clear Communication Index (Index) to aid staff in evaluating how well their communication products conform to research-based clear communication practices. The Index includes a set of standardized criteria to assess and score materials – providing staff an alternative to readability formulas and plain language checklists.

CDC is requesting OMB approval to collect feedback on the newly created exemplar materials to assess target audiences’ attitudes and opinions about materials that have been revised using the Index. To collect feedback on user satisfaction with 8 Index-designed materials, CDC will conduct a large online web survey to collect quantitative metrics on revised materials.

The purpose of this survey is to determine if participants’ attitudes and opinions are more positive about materials that have been revised using the Clear Communication Index compared with the original versions.

We have included more detailed information in the research protocol, web survey, and recruitment materials at the end of this request (Attachments A, K and L). The protocol explains our methods—how we will recruit for, and conduct the survey. It includes an overview of survey objectives, the target audiences, and the full set of questions participants will respond to.

Attachments B1- B16 contain each of the materials to be shown to participants as shown in Table 1 below. We have also included screen shots of each question and prompt in the survey software (Attachments C - J).

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

Survey participants are members of specific CDC audiences for the exemplar materials. The 264 participants fall into four target audiences:

• 112 clinicians (doctors and nurses)

• 112 public health department staff (state and local)

• 20 CDC partners (staff government and nonprofit organizations who often partner with CDC)

• 20 policymakers (congressional liaisons and state and local decision makers).

Clinicians and Public Health Department Staff: Participants will be randomized to see either two revised or two original materials..

Policymakers and CDC Partners: Because these audiences are harder to recruit, we will use a smaller sample for each group. Each participant will be randomized to see either two revised or two original materials.

Table 1 below lists the materials that will be shown to each audience as a revised or original version.

Table 1:

Audience	Material
Clinicians (doctors & nurses)	1. Influenza (Attachment B1 & B2)
	2. Wisconsin Surveillance of Autism (Attachment B3 & B4)
CDC partners	1. Healthcare-Associated Infections (Attachment B5 & B6)
	2. Heart Disease Fact Sheet (Attachment B7 & B8)
Policymakers	1. CDC Budget Overview (Attachment B9 & B10)
	2. Introduction to Epidemiology (Attachment B11 & B12)
Public health department staff	1 Model Aquatic Health Code (Attachment B13 & B14)
	2. National Violent Death Reporting System (B15 & B16)

Survey questions will not vary by participant or by material.

We will use the following OMB ethnicity and race questions in the survey. The screen shot files in this package have incorrect ethnicity and race questions, and it was cost-prohibitive to reprint all the files. Attachment K Web Survey Questions has the correct ethnicity and race questions. We will correct the online survey with the vendor before the survey link is sent to participants.

What is your ethnicity?

• Hispanic or Latino

• Black or African American

What is your race? Mark all that apply.

• American Indian or Alaska Native

• Asian

• Black or African American

• Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

• White

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

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

[ ] 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:_Dr. Cynthia Baur

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

Participants in the clinician group will be paid $45 for their participation as this audience is being recruited by a third party recruitment company (Schlesinger and Associates). From past experience conducting similar testing with clinicians, offering an incentive as a token acknowledgement is helpful for recruiting clinicians and ensuring they participate in a timely manner. The recruitment company suggests that $45 is the minimum amount required to successfully recruit and retain participants for this task.

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time (in hours)	Burden Hours
Clinicians (Doctors and Nurses)	112	20/60	38
CDC Partners	20	20/60	7
Public Health Department Staff	112	20/60	38
Policy Makers	20	20/60	7
Totals	264		90

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is $_15,075_

Staff or Contractor	Hours	Average Hourly Rate	Cost
Sandra Williams Hilfiker (Contractor), Subject Matter Expert	10	$130	$1300
Deliya Banda (Contractor), Project Manager, Research Lead	80	$130	$10,400
Huijuan Wu (Contractor), Senior Usability Researcher.	8	$100	$800
Caroline Conena (Contractor), Project Coordinator	40	$55	$2200
Cynthia Baur (FTE)	5	$75	$375
Totals	70		$15075

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

CDC will work with Schlesinger & Associates, a large international market research company, to recruit participants and administer this online cross-sectional survey. Participants will be recruited as follows:

• Clinicians (doctors and nurses): Schlesinger & Associates will recruit doctors and nurses from an existing nation-wide panel.

• Partners: CDC will provide a list of contacts and email address from partner organizations.

• Public health department staff: The CDC will place a solicitation in the weekly Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) newsletter or similar Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) publication with a unique email address for members to contact if they are interested in participating.

• Policymakers: CDC will identify state and local level decision-makers to recruit.

Administration of the Instrument

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

[X] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[ ] Telephone

[ ] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other, Explain

Participants will be invited via email to complete the 20-minute online survey.

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