Mfp-ss-b_12.17.15

Survey of Current and Alumni SAMHSA Minority Fellowship Program Fellows

Supporting Statement

B. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods

B1. Respondent Universe and Sampling Methods

The traditional MFP offers sustained grants to six national behavioral health professional associations: the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), the American Nurses Association (ANA), the American Psychiatric Association (ApA), the American Psychological Association (APA), the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), and the National Board for Certified Counselors and Affiliates (NBCC). The grantees for the Now is the Time MFP-Youth (NITT-MFP-Y) program are the AAFMT, ANA, APA, CSWE, and NBCC, and the grantees for the NITT-MFP-Addiction Counselors (NITT-MFP-AC) program are the NAADAC—Association for Addiction Professionals and NBCC. Based on SAMHSA's needs, other associations may join in future years. To date, more than 1,500 traditional MFP Fellows have received financial assistance through the MFP. About 120 to 150 current Fellows are enrolled in the traditional MFP each year, and a projected 300 total in the NITT-MFP-Y (240 fellows) and NITT-MFP-AC (60 fellows). The link to the online surveys will be sent to the full population for whom contact information is available. At the present time, contact information is available for 1,031 of the 1,500 current and alumni Fellows. The program was initiated in 1973 and unfortunately it has been difficult to maintain complete contact information for a percentage of early MFP Fellows. All current Fellows and all Alumni for whom contact information has been obtained will be surveyed.

Table 4 presents the estimates of responses expected for both surveys.

Table 4. Respondent Universe and Estimated Number of Respondents

Survey	Selection Method: Universe or Type of Data Collection	Estimated Number of Respondents
Survey of Current SAMHSA MFP Fellows	Universe	428
Survey of Alumni SAMHSA MFP Fellows	Universe1	1,440

B2. Information Collection Procedures

Although one of the guiding principles in this evaluation of the MFP is that burden should be minimized, additional primary data collection is necessary. Since research has demonstrated that survey efforts are most effective when a knowledgeable and respected entity invites participation, all potential participants in this study will receive a letter of invitation from the relevant Grantee organization informing them about the upcoming study. The SAMHSA contractor will coordinate this effort and ensure that invitations are distributed. For those who have no Internet access, a toll-free “800” number will be available for requesting a hardcopy survey.

While mailed and electronic surveys are least intrusive to the respondent, they also tend to have the lowest response rates. Nonetheless, relying on questionnaires/surveys is the most effective strategy where there are sufficiently large numbers of respondents for which adequate response rates can be achieved (with appropriate follow-ups).

Email addresses are already in the possession of the SAMHSA contractor, and the invitation will include a link for recipients to use in answering an online survey. Two reminder emails will be sent electronically (with the link to the Web-based survey again included) about 3 weeks after and about 5 weeks after the initial email.

B3. Methods to Maximize Response Rates

Multiple strategies will be used to maximize response rates and minimize burden on respondents. The contractor’s IT staff will use Web-based interface software to provide the respondents with a simple interface to transform a paper-and-pencil survey into a Web-based survey. The software allows for multiple question types (yes/no, multiple choice, write-in responses, rating scales, etc.) and for skip patterns (also known as branching). The sites load rapidly and will be designed to be very user-friendly for respondents.

Respondents will receive an email from their respective Grantee organization with which they are familiar, requesting their participation in the survey. The email will offer them the choice of completing the survey online or using a paper survey (the message will provide instructions for requesting a paper survey). The email will include a link to the Web site where the survey can be completed. Two reminder emails will be sent electronically (with the link to the survey again included) about 3 weeks and about 5 weeks after the initial email.

For those who request a paper­-and-pencil survey, a hard copy will be sent through the U.S. Mail.

Those whose email address has not been obtained or who do not respond to the initial email will be contacted through telephone and mail to offer them a choice of online or hard copy. The research assistant working on the survey will follow up with nonrespondents; two additional attempts (beyond the initial contact) will be made to elicit participation.

In the most frequent administration of the survey, response rates varied from 22 percent for Alumni to 60 percent for current Fellows. Since this previous administration did not include telephone reminders or the choice of being mailed a hard copy of the survey, it is anticipated that the addition of the second reminder email and these additional measures will significantly increase the response rate. A 64 percent return rate is anticipated from Alumni and 85 percent from current Fellows.

B4. Tests of Procedures

Univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analyses of all variables (moderating variables, intervention components, mediating variables, and outcome components) will be examined—overall, and by Grantee. Bivariate and multivariate analyses may include comparisons of variables and demographics within and between Grantees to identify important covariates and confounding variables before examining the primary hypotheses.

B5. Statistical Consultants

The contractor team comprises experts who have been involved in the development of analysis plans and will be directly involved in data collection and statistical analysis. Also, a SAMHSA advisor will be consulted throughout the evaluation on various statistical aspects of the design, methodological issues, and data analysis. Contact information for these team members and advisor is included below.

SAMHSA Contact

Tanya Gunn, SAMHSA Government Project Officer 240.276.1751

Contractors

Marcia Cohen, Principal Investigator DSG 301.951.0056

Tom Vischi, Co–Principal Investigator DSG 301.951.5377

List of Attachments

• Attachment A. Survey and Consent Form for Current SAMHSA MFP Fellows

• Attachment B. Survey and Consent Form for Alumni SAMHSA MFP Fellows

1 The universe is made up of all current and alumni Fellows for whom contact information is available, consisting of either (1) an email address, (2) a postal address, or (3) a telephone number.

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