Sspb 152017

SUPPORTING STATEMENT – PART B

Improving Caregiver Outcomes through Structured Support Via Military Caregiver Peer Forums – OMB Control Number 0704-XXXX

B.  COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS

1.  Description of the Activity

This section covers the sample of civilians and contractors.

Data collection will occur between March 2017 and August 2017.

Interviews and forum observations will be selected based on convenience. RAND will work closely with Military Community & Family Policy (MC&FP) to identify PEER forums to observe and stakeholders to interview. Recovery care coordinators (RCCs) who refer caregivers to the PEER forums, or Military and Family Life Counselors (MFLCs) who run the sessions, will provide information about persons they have referred or who have participated in the program. RAND will send a follow-up email inviting them to participate in an interview.

We plan to observe five PEER forums and conduct interviews with 90 members of the public. Table 1 below describes the expected sample.

Table 1. Anticipated sample: Members of the Public

	Members of the Public
TOTAL	90
MFLCs	30
RCCs	25
Caregivers	35

2.  Procedures for the Collection of Information

All data will be collected through semi-structured interviews and site observations. The data being collected is qualitative where the focus is not to be representative but to acquire depth of information.

3.  Maximization of Response Rates, Non-response, and Reliability

The data being collected is qualitative where the focus is not to be representative but to acquire depth of information. We believe that the interviews and forum observations will be adequate to achieve saturation (i.e., the point during qualitative interview in which the same responses are repeated and no new information is provided) and will fulfill the main purpose of the data collection efforts: to describe the core components of Military Caregiver PEER Forums and the perceived benefits of the program.

4.  Tests of Procedures

Interview protocols will be semi-structured, allowing for the interviewer to adapt the text to improve respondents’ understanding of the question and increase the accuracy of responses.

5.  Statistical Consultation and Information Analysis

The sampling approach and data collection procedures were designed by the RAND Corporation under the leadership of:

Rajeev Ramchand, Ph.D.

RAND Corporation

1200 South Hayes Street

Arlington, VA 22202-5050

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