Generic Request_VHA Customer Value Focus Groups

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 2900-0770)

T ITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION:

VHA Customer Value Focus Groups

PURPOSE:

To improve the overall health of Veterans and continue to be their provider of choice, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is undertaking a comprehensive set of transformation initiatives to develop a more patient-centered model of care that will meet the changing needs and expectations of the Veteran population. Included in these initiatives are two strategies: 1) the bi-directional sharing of healthcare information between VA care teams and Veterans and their family members, and 2) a more proactive and personalized approach to healthcare through health coaching.

As part of the effort to develop these care practices, VHA seeks to develop a thorough understanding of the specific service characteristics and choice factors valued most highly by Veterans, and how these preferences will impact Veterans choices and behaviors when interacting with VHA. Such an approach will provide insight into how Veterans will respond to future changes in patient care practices or service experiences. Understanding these preferences will help VHA design and implement the sharing of healthcare information and the introduction of new services/experiences such as personalized health planning and coaching in ways that provide the highest value to Veterans and achieve the highest possible levels of patient adoption, adherence and satisfaction.

OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH:

The objective of the focus groups is to gather input from Veterans on two healthcare services – the bi-directional sharing of healthcare information and health coaching. The results of the focus groups will be used to help design a pilot Conjoint Survey of Veterans’ preferences for these two healthcare services. The focus groups will identify those service attributes or characteristics which are most important to Veterans. The focus groups will identify the ranges of attribute levels that Veterans consider when assessing service options (for example, different lead times for appointment scheduling or different types of information included in patient health records). The focus groups will also surface factors that, while important to Veterans, are not really choice factors but rather are “taken for granted” in the design of healthcare services (for example, the security of information in the personal health record).

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

Enrolled and non-enrolled Veterans will be recruited from Veterans Organizations for six in-person focus groups, which will be held in the mid-Atlantic area (Metropolitan Washington DC, or VA Medical Centers in Virginia, West Virginia, or Maryland). Three focus groups will include enrolled Veterans (those who currently use VHA for healthcare) and three focus groups will include non-enrolled Veterans (those who obtain their healthcare from providers other than VHA).

Ten (10) Veterans will be recruited for each focus group, to achieve a target of eight (8) participants in each focus group.

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: Joseph A. Williams

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

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	Burden
Individuals (Veteran Enrollees)	30	90	45
Individuals (Veteran Non-Enrollees)	30	90	45
Totals	60		90

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is: $17,156

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?

The Veterans Organizations will identify Enrolled and Non-enrolled Veterans from their membership. Veterans will be selected based on their availability and screened to ensure a mix of participants, based on the following criteria:

• Gender

• Service era

• Service branch

• Comfort level with technology

For Enrolled Veterans, the optimal day of the focus groups will be determined with the Veterans organization where the focus groups will take place. On the day of the focus groups, the Veterans organization point of contact will recruit Veterans that are present that day in the facility to participate in the focus groups, using the above criteria to ensure a diverse mix of participants. Up to ten (10) Enrolled Veterans will be recruited to acquire the needed eight (8) focus group participants. Three focus groups of Enrolled Veterans will be carried out using this method for participant selection.

For Non-Enrolled Veterans, the day of the focus groups will be determined with the Veterans organization. In advance of each focus group, ten (10) Non-Enrolled Veterans will be recruited to acquire the needed eight (8) focus group participants, using the above criteria to ensure a diverse mix of participants. Three focus groups of Non-Enrolled Veterans will be carried out using this method for participant selection.

Administration of the Instrument

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

[ ] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[ ] Telephone

[X] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other, Explain

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

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