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Urgent Care Center Interviews

ASPR TRACIE Generic Information Collection Request

OMB No. 0990-0391

Supporting Statement – Section A

Submitted: August 22, 2017

Program Official/Project Officer

Pamela Shayne Brannman, M.S., M.A.

Director, ASPR Technical Resources Assistance Center & Information Exchange

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response

200 C Street, SW, Washington DC 20024

(202) 260-9623

[email protected]

Section A – Justification

1. Circumstances Making the Collection of Information Necessary

In 2014, the United States Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Assistant Secretary of Preparedness and Response (ASPR) created the Technical Resources Assistance Center and Information Exchange (TRACIE) to meet the needs of regional ASPR staff, healthcare coalitions, healthcare entities, healthcare providers, emergency managers, public health practitioners, and others working in disaster medicine, healthcare system preparedness, and public health emergency preparedness. ASPR TRACIE supports timely access to information and promising practices, identifies and remedies knowledge gaps, and provides users with responses to a range of requests for technical assistance. ASPR TRACIE is comprised of three complementary domains: (1) a technical resources database; (2) a direct-service technical assistance center; and (3) an information exchange discussion board. This Generic Information Collection request aims to collect formative information that would add to the technical resources database. ASPR TRACIE would like to determine if Urgent Care Centers would be an appropriate venue for providing medical surge assistance during emergencies.

We are seeking approval through the generic mechanism for this research to conduct one-on-one interviews with leadership at Urgent Care Centers. We will only survey leaders of Urgent Care Centers that are covered by Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) healthcare coalitions, funded through the HPP Cooperative Agreement. Many Americans rely on Urgent Care Centers for acute illnesses related to injuries, contagious diseases, and exacerbations of chronic conditions; many issues that are experienced before, during, and after emergencies.

This exploratory qualitative research uses interviews to explore potential roles for Urgent Care Centers during an emergency and any practical considerations that must be addressed should Urgent Care Centers become part of an emergency response plan.

This research will provide critical insight into explorations of how this medical provider setting could benefit individuals during an emergency. It will also provide information with the potential to improve future emergency response although we understand the results are not generalizable to larger populations given the sample.

2. Purpose and Use of the Information Collection

The aim of this research is to understand the perspectives of leadership at Urgent Care Centers. We are seeking approval through this mechanism for 30 60-minute one-on-one interviews with leadership at Urgent Care Centers. As there are three different types of Urgent Care Centers (i.e., hospital-owned, large chain, and small chain/independent), the research will be divided evenly across these types. Topics of particular interest are: (1) perceptions of the role for Urgent Care Centers during emergencies; and (2) factors to consider if Urgent Care Centers will be used during emergencies. All participation is strictly voluntary.

This work is exploratory in nature. The findings from the interviews will not be generalizable, as they are based on a convenience sample. The method of data collection was chosen due to the exploratory nature of this inquiry. Information gathered via these interviews will inform our understanding of the strengths, weaknesses, and potential role of Urgent Care Centers in emergency management and care.

Findings from this work will be summarized in one research brief and will be released publicly through ASPR TRACIE. The research may be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

3. Use of Improved Information Technology and Burden Reduction

Data will be collected via telephone interviews. The sample for this data collection will be one of convenience. Interviews will be scheduled for times that are convenient for the participant. Potential participants will receive a request for participation through their email. A laptop computer will be used to take notes during the discussions. The discussions will be audio-recorded and later transcribed for analysis using NVivo qualitative research software. The discussions will follow a semi-structured discussion guide.

4. Efforts to Identify Duplication and Use of Similar Information

To our knowledge, there is no information of similar nature that has been or is currently being collected. This is an exploratory study to allow ASPR to better understand the perspectives and needs of Urgent Care Centers related to emergencies.

5. Impact on Small Businesses or Other Small Entities

No small businesses will be impacted or involved in this data collection.

6. Consequences of Collecting the Information Less Frequently

This request is for a one-time data collection where the data have not previously been collected elsewhere.

7. Special Circumstances Relating to the Guidelines of 5 CFR 1320.5

There are no special circumstances with this information collection package. This request fully complies with the regulation 5 CFR 1320.5 and will be voluntary.

8. Comments in Response to the Federal Register Notice and Efforts to Consult Outside the Agency

This data collection is being conducted using the Generic Information Collection mechanism through ASPR – OMB No. 0990-0391.

9. Explanation of Any Payment or Gift to Respondents

There will be no payments offered to respondents for this data collection.

10. Assurance of Confidentiality Provided to Respondents

The Privacy Act does not apply to this data collection. Participants will not be asked about, nor will they provide, individually identifiable information. Participant names and email addresses will not be connected to individual respondents. Participants will be asked to provide verbal consent before starting the discussion that reiterates the voluntary nature of participation in the group and their right to decline to respond to any discussion questions.

11. Justification for Sensitive Questions

We do not expect the questions to be considered sensitive, but participants in these interviews will be informed that they may decline to respond to any questions if they are not comfortable answering.

12. Estimates of Annualized Burden Hours and Costs

The estimate for burden hours is based on:

1. Initial email messages will be sent to up to 90 prospective participants to recruit 30 participants for interviews. We estimate respondents will spend 2 minutes to read and reply to the recruitment message. See draft scripts in Attachment A.

2. Secondary/reminder email messages will be sent to up to 90 prospective participants to recruit 30 participants for interviews. We estimate respondents will spend 2 minutes to read and reply to the recruitment message. See draft scripts in Attachment B.

3. Sixty-minute interviews will be conducted with a total of 30 participating leadership. See semi-structured interview guide in Attachment C.

Estimates for cost per burden hour are based on the May 2016 Bureau of Labor Statistics National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates. Based on these data, the mean hourly rate for chief executives is $93.44.¹ Table A-12 shows estimated burden and cost information.

Table A-12: Estimated Annualized Burden Hours and Costs to Respondents

Type of Respondent	No. of Respondents	No. of Responses per Respondent	Average Burden per Response (in hours)	Total Burden Hours	Hourly Wage Rate	Total Respondent Costs
Recruitment
Initial Email	90	1	2/60	3	$93.44	$280.32
Reminder Email	90	1	2/60	3	$93.44	$280.32
Interviews
Leadership	30	1	1	30	$93.44	$2,803.20
TOTALS	90			36		$3,363.84

13. Estimates of Other Total Annual Cost Burden to Respondents or Record Keepers

There will be no direct costs to the respondents other than their time to participate in the data collection.

14. Annualized Cost to the Government

Table A-14: Estimated Annualized Cost to the Federal Government

Staff (FTE)	Average Hours per Collection	Average Hourly Rate	Average Cost
Senior Contractor Staff	8	$211.67	$1,693.36
Research Staff	250.5	$103.17	$25,844.09
Subject Matter Expert	16	$386.93	$6,190.88
Estimated Total Cost of Information Collection			$33,728.33

15. Explanation for Program Changes or Adjustments

This is a new data collection.

16. Plans for Tabulation and Publication and Project Time Schedule

The qualitative information shared by interview participants will be collected via typed notes and audio recording. After each interview is complete, contractor staff will review the written notes within 24 hours, and audiotapes will be transcribed. Contractor staff will analyze the data qualitatively by reviewing the interview notes and pulling out the main themes from each set of discussions. Coding and analysis of themes will be done using NVivo. These themes will be summarized. No names or other personal information will be reported in the summaries.

Timeline:

Completion Date	Major Tasks/Milestones
July – August 2017	Consultation with outside experts Develop interview guide Submit request for OMB approval under existing generic PRA clearance Plan for recruitment Plan for interviews Obtain IRB approval
September 2017	Receive OMB approval under existing generic PRA clearance Begin recruiting participants Finalize planning for interviews Conduct interviews Record and transcribe interviews
October – November 2017	Produce summary and final reports
December 2017	Publish report on ASPR TRACIE website

17. Reason(s) Display of OMB Expiration Date is Inappropriate

We are requesting no exemption.

18. Exceptions to Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions

There are no exceptions to the certification. These activities comply with the requirements in 5 CFR 1320.9.

LIST OF ATTACHMENTS – Section A

Note: Attachments are included as separate files as instructed.

1. Initial Email Script for Recruiting Participants

2. Reminder Email Script for Recruiting Participants

3. Interview Discussion Guide

1 See https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm for national mean hourly wages.