Assessment of the STD AAPPS Funding Program

Attachment D—Instrument: Interview Guide

Form Approved

OMB No. 0920-0879

Expiration Date 03/31/2018

Introductory script

Hello, my name is ____________, and I appreciate your making time for this discussion today. I work for Karna, which was hired by the Division of STD Prevention at CDC, to talk to all of the awardees of AAPPS about their experiences under AAPPS as well as what you wish were different. This discussion will run for approximately one hour.

I would like your permission to record this interview, so that I can be sure my notes are accurate. Do you agree with being recorded? ___ Yes ___ No

Also, I want you to know that your name(s) and the name of your jurisdiction or other specific geographic identifiers will not be used in any dissemination of the findings to your STD program peers or other external audiences. DSTDP will not receive identifiable information for the interviews conducted by us [Karna]. Do you understand this? __ Affirm

Do you have any concerns? ____________________________________________________

Does everyone have the completed STD AAPPS assessment tool in front of them? __ Yes __ No

Also, I want to remind everyone that there are a few topics that we know are important but which we are not going to discuss today. These include: 1) the reporting burden associated with the annual progress report and continuation application, 2) the funding formula, 3) the 13.5% requirement, 4) federal field staff, and 5) use of unobligated funds or carryover. DSTDP has directed us to spend our time focusing on other aspects of AAPPS and the AAPPS experience at this time.

Now let’s get started.

Introductions

1. Who all is on, and what is your role in the health department and relationship to STD AAPPS?

Views on scope of work

2. What do you think about the scope or vision of the entire AAPPS FOA?

3. Thinking about your own jurisdiction, in what ways is this AAPPS scope or vision helpful or not?

4. What are some examples of choices you have made about what to focus on? Not focus on?

Changes in last three years

5. What are some key activities that you have started under AAPPS? What motivated these changes?

6. Activities that you have stopped doing or are phasing out under AAPPS? What motivated these changes?

7. [Guided by results of worksheet: probe on up to 2 additional changes they want to explain further]

Successes and opportunities

8. What do you consider the greatest contributions that your STD program has made in your jurisdiction under AAPPS?

9. [Guided by results of worksheet: probe on up to 2 additional areas of strength or increasing strength they want to explain further]

Challenges

10. Apart from funding levels, what are your primary challenges as a program under AAPPS?

11. [Guided by results of worksheet: probe on up to 2 additional challenges or increasing challenges they want to explain further.]

Support for implementation

12. How have you felt about the support you have received from DSTDP to implement STD AAPPS? Peers? Other sources of TA/support?

13. What has been most helpful to you?

14. What kind of support or support structures do you wish you had, to help you implement AAPPS?

External factors

15. Beyond what we have talked about already, what other important factors or events have most affected your ability to implement AAPPS over the last three years?

Desired changes

16. What are the top 3 things you wish you could change about the FOA overall?

17. [Guided by results of worksheet: probe on up to 2 areas they wish were dropped]

18. [Guided by results of worksheet: probe on up to 2 required activities they wish were optional]

CDC estimates the average public reporting burden for this collection of information as 70 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data/information sources, gathering and maintaining the data/information needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing burden to CDC/ATSDR Information Collection Review Office, 1600 Clifton Road NE, MS D-74, Atlanta, Georgia 30333; ATTN: PRA (0920-0879).