Justification

Concept Testing. “Talk. They Hear You” Public Service Announcement (PSAs) For Hispanic/Latino Populations Spanish-Dominant Speakers

A. Product Activity to be Assessed

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, is requesting OMB approval for one new focus group tool consisting of the following:

• Focus Group Protocol (Attachment A)

• Focus Group Discussions (FGD) Recruitment and Screening (Attachment B)

• Release and Consent Form (Attachment C)

• FGD Facilitator Guide (Attachment D)

In 2013, SAMHSA launched the “Talk. They Hear You.” Campaign designed to help parents talk to children ages 9–15 about the consequences of underage drinking and introduce skills to help them avoid situations that result in drinking. This is a national campaign with an ongoing rollout period.

The “Talk. They Hear You.” materials consist of public service announcements (PSAs), infographics, and a mobile application. These materials show parents using everyday opportunities to talk with their children about alcohol, and reinforce the important of starting the conversation about alcohol at an early age. They were created and provided to partners to display and distribute to parents and community members, and these channels, in turn, generated feedback on campaign successes such as social media and blog posts, newsletter articles, and direct distribution of campaign materials.

The “Talk. They Hear You.” PSAs include print, radio, and video versions, with many materials available in both English and Spanish. Since launching in 2013, these PSAs and materials have been distributed widely across the country, and the mobile application has a growing total of 2000+ downloads.

As of July 2013, the Hispanic population of the United States was 54 million—making people of Hispanic origin the nation’s largest ethnic or racial minority. Hispanics constituted 17 percent of the nation’s total population. There were 11.9 million Hispanic family households in the United States in 2013; 62.4 percent of these were married-couple households. In that same year, more than half (58.5 percent) of Hispanic married-couple households had children younger than 18, whereas for the nation it was 40.3 percent (from the U.S. Census Bureau, http://www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2014/cb14-ff22.html accessed December 22, 2015).

Given the significant size of the Hispanic/Latino population—and the large number of households with children—it is critical for the “Talk. They Hear You.” Campaign to reach Hispanic/Latino parents with children ages 9–15. Hispanic/Latino parents are no more comfortable than others when it comes to talking to their children about alcohol, so they need information on the consequences of underage drinking and the skills to help their kids avoid situations that result in drinking. For the “Talk. They Hear You.” PSAs and accompanying materials to reach this population effectively—and for Hispanic/Latino parents to attend to and act on the messages—they must be culturally and linguistically relevant. Of course, this goes beyond simply translating the materials into Spanish to include statistics and information that is specific to diverse Hispanic/Latino communities across the country. Children in these communities may be vulnerable to underage drinking because of socioeconomic factors^{1, 2} and negative experiences³ (including perceived discrimination⁴) at school. Additionally, as they acculturate to life in the United States, Hispanic children are more vulnerable to using alcohol.⁵

B. Brief Statement of Objectives

The overall objective of the focus group is to test three newly developed concepts for PSAs that target Hispanic/Latino parents and caregivers for the “Talk. They Hear You.” Campaign. The focus groups will help SAMHSA select which concept best reaches the target population. Concept testing among Hispanic/Latino parents will determine whether these are effective at conveying the importance of talking to kids about underage drinking as well as how parents can have these conversations with their children. Focus groups will determine whether Spanish-language materials are motivating and culturally and linguistically relevant to Hispanic/Latino parents. For example, testing will determine whether the information conveyed is perceived as respectful to Hispanic/Latinos and whether parents believe in the call for action proposed by the “Talk. They Hear You.” Campaign. The information derived from the focus groups will help improve the concepts and guide developers in making them more memorable, understandable, relevant, and appealing to Hispanic/Latino parents. Focus group results will provide a solid foundation on which to develop the Campaign’s Spanish-language public service announcements and accompanying materials. Input from the target audience is a critical part of the process and will facilitate message refinement and the development of a culturally and linguistically relevant “Talk. They Hear You.” Campaign.

C. Overview of Methods to Collect Information

Data Collection Method

SAMHSA is seeking to conduct the focus groups in four geographic locations with high concentrations of Hispanic/Latinos. Of course, the Hispanic/Latino population is very diverse, with representations from many different countries of origin. The different locations ensure that many of those countries are represented as well as parents from diverse socio-economic, cultural, educational, and demographical backgrounds. This diversity in participants’ backgrounds yields a comprehensive set of opinions, experiences, and feedback of the “Talk. They Hear You.” campaign materials and products.

The four proposed focus groups in four different geographic locations are: Washington, D.C. (which is highly convenient and will offer a good mix of nationalities, including Salvadorans, Hondurans, Columbians, and Peruvians); San Antonio, Texas (which offers mostly Mexican participants); Los Angeles, California (which offers participants who are Mexican, Puerto Rican, Guatemalan, and Ecuadorian); and Miami-Dade County (offers participants who are Cuban, Dominicans, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans). Each focus group will be conducted in Spanish and will be 90 minutes long. The time breakdown for each focus group is the following:

• 5 minutes to pre-screen potential participants

• 90 minutes to read and sign consent forms and participate in introduction, guidelines, and group discussion

SAMHSA will provide a recruitment and screening questionnaires to vendors to use in recruiting the focus group participants. This ensures the individuals participating in each group will meet the needs of the study. SAMHSA will also provide guidance on timing and set up for the groups and work with its vendors to meet or adjust the logistical requirements as needed.

Identifying respondents and providing incentives

SAMHSA is looking to have a total of forty-eight (48) potential participants that will be pre-screened prior to the focus groups (12 potential participants per focus group). Out of the 48 pre-screened potential participants, forty (40) will be recruited and divided into four (4) groups of ten (10), to participate in a 90-minute focus group session, as follows:

Session dates will be determined based on receipt of approval from OMB to proceed.

• One session will be conducted in Washington, D.C., on TBD

• One session will be conducted in San Antonio, Texas, on TBD

• One session will be conducted in Los Angeles, California, on TBD

• One session will be conducted in Miami-Dade County, Florida, on TBD

• The participant recruitment will be based on the results of a screening questionnaire to be applied by: vendor TBD

• Focus groups will be conducted preferably after work hours, based on potential participant’s availability.

• At the beginning of each session, participants will complete a release/consent form of use of the information provided.

• To gain participants and reduce recruiting time and cost, SAMHSA will offer participants a $50 gift card.

Frequency of Data Collection

SAMHSA is seeking to conduct the proposed four focus groups only one time. Each focus group will be 90 minutes long and each respondent will be asked to provide feedback as part of the overall conversation. The moderator will ensure all participants have an equal amount of time to participate.

Methods for Identifying Duplication

The information needed is specific to this program’s social marketing campaign and is not collected anywhere else.

D. Annualized Response Burden Estimate

Participant	No. of Respondents	Responses per respondent	Total Number of Responses	Hours per Response	Total hour burden	Wage per hour	Total hour cost
Individuals (Screening call to participate)	48	1	48	.08	3.84	0	0
Individuals (Focus Group participation)	40	1	40	1.5	60	$35.00	$2100.00
Totals	48 (40 is subset)		88		63.84		$2100.00

The estimated annualized cost to respondents for the proposed data collection activities is $2,100.00. For the purposes of estimating annual cost, it is assumed that the participants will participate once. The average burden was estimated based on independent review of the focus groups by the contractor and Federal staff.

Estimates of Annualized Cost to the Government

The estimated annualized cost to the government for the proposed data collection activities is $25,376 and includes the cost to the contract as well as the GPO cost.

Position	Percent FTE	Annual Hours	Rate	Total Annual Cost
CSAP GPO		40	$59.40/hr	$2,376
Contractor(s) – NOPEEI Contract		n/a	n/a	$23,000
Totals	varies	varies	varies	$25,376

E. Methods used to develop the questions

Questions similar to those in the moderator’s guide have been asked to participants from focus groups for concept testing, to assess cultural and linguistic relevance and effectiveness of the campaign materials.

F. Consultants within SAMHSA and outside the Agency

The common measures here for OMB approval are the result of lengthy consultation and discussion among SAMHSA personnel, and contract representatives. The final selection of these measures was made by SAMHSA senior officials.

Project Officer

Robert Vincent, Public Health Advisor, SAMHSA

(240) 276-1582

Contractor/Project Director: Elaine Rahbar, Synergy Enterprises, Inc. (240) 485-1700

List of Attachments:

Attachment A: Focus Group Protocol

Attachment B: FGD Recruitment and Screening

Attachment C: Release and Consent Form

Attachment D: FGD Facilitator Guide

1 Bacio GA, Estrada Y, Huang S, Martínez M, Sardinas K, Prado G. Ecodevelopmental predictors of early initiation of alcohol, tobacco, and drug use among Hispanic adolescents. J Sch Psychol. 2015 Jun;53(3):195-208.

2 Salas-Wright CP, Hernandez L, Maynard BR, Saltzman LY, Vaughn MG. Alcohol use among Hispanic early adolescents in the United States: an examination of behavioral risk and protective profiles. Subst Use Misuse. 2014 Jun;49(7):864-77.

3 Merianos AL, Vidourek RA, Nabors LA, King KA. School Experiences Associated With Alcohol Use Among Hispanic Youth. J Sch Health. 2015 Sep;85(9):621-8.

4 Unger JB, Schwartz SJ, Huh J, Soto DW, Baezconde-Garbanati L. Acculturation and perceived discrimination: predictors of substance use trajectories from adolescence to emerging adulthood among Hispanics. Addict Behav. 2014 Sep;39(9):1293-6.

5 Bacio GA, Mays VM, Lau AS. Drinking initiation and problematic drinking among Latino adolescents: explanations of the immigrant paradox. Psychol Addict Behav. 2013 Mar;27(1):14-22.

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