Environmental Health Workforce Current and Emerging Challenges Assessment
OSTLTS Generic Data collection Request
OMB No. 0920-0879
Submitted: May 10, 2018
Program Official/Project Officer
Name: Justin Gerding
Title: Acting Practice Support Section Lead
Organization: CDC NCEH Water, Food, and Environmental Health Services Branch
Address: 4770 Buford Highway Chamblee, GA 30341
Phone number: 770-488-3972
Fax Number: 770-488-7310
Email: [email protected]
Section B – Data collection Procedures 3
1. Respondent Universe and Sampling Methods 3
2. Procedures for the Collection of Information 3
3. Methods to Maximize Response Rates Deal with Nonresponse 4
4. Test of Procedures or Methods to be Undertaken 4
5. Individuals Consulted on Statistical Aspects and Individuals Collecting and/or Analyzing Data 5
Respondents consist of environmental health (EH) professionals representing state, local, tribal and territorial health (STLT) departments. The main data collection included in this study is a focus group. It is expected that 42 EH professionals participate in two focus groups.
The 42 participants will be selected from a possible pool of 994 STLT health officials. The 42 participants will be determined based on their responses to the recruitment instrument (i.e., indicating their interest and availability to participate in a focus group). The final sample of 42 will be purposefully selected to include a diverse group of STLT representatives, geographic regions, and EH professional positions (directors, managers, and field staff).
The recruitment instrument will be sent to 994 STLT health officials which is a subset of 1,737 who completed the aforementioned web-based assessment (OMB Control No. 0920-1187; see Attachment A: Respondent Breakdown). The 994 who will be sent the recruitment instrument represent a subset of those who participated in the original UNCOVER study.
Recruitment Instrument
Respondents will be recruited through a notification email (Attachment G: Notification Email). The notification email will explain:
The purpose of the data collection, and why their participation is important
Instructions for participating
Method to safeguard their responses
That participation is voluntary
The expected time to complete the instrument
Contact information for the project team
Following distribution of the notification email, the recruitment instrument will remain open for three weeks. A reminder email (Attachment H: Reminder Email) will be sent to respondents one week after the notification email to remind respondents about the opportunity to participate in the focus groups and complete the recruitment instrument. Anyone not responding by the closing of the instrument will be considered a non-respondent.
Focus Group
Respondents selected for participation in the focus groups will receive a confirmation email within two weeks after the instrument closes (Attachment I: Confirmation Email). If the participant does not confirm their participation within three days, project staff will contact them by phone to confirm their interest in participating (Attachment J: Confirmation Call). If participation is not confirmed, alternates will be identified from the pool of recruitment instrument respondents who indicated availability/interest in participation.
The focus group facilitation guide (Attachment D: Facilitation Guide) will be used to gather information from the 42 respondents. Focus groups will be held during two separate events.
The topics discussed (See Attachment E: Assessment Topics) will be different at each event. Given the number and breadth of the topics, along with the need to generate in-depth discussion to produce rich information, it would not be feasible to cover all topics during one event. The first event will be held at the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) Annual Conference, which is the premier conference and gathering of environmental health professionals from across the nation. This event will draw participants who were already planning to attend the conference, which will not require any funding to support their travel. Considering the project timeline and the fact that the next NEHA conference will occur the following year, it was necessary to determine an alternate location for hosting the second event in August. Therefore, NEHA (the contractor for this IC) was funded to support participant travel to the second event, which will be held at the NEHA headquarters in Denver, CO. This location was advantageous as NEHA will be using its own meeting space and resources to host the focus groups.
The 42 respondents will be participating in one out of the two different events (21 participants at each event). At each event, each participant will participate in two focus group sessions to assess the current and emerging challenges impacting the EH professional and programs at STLT health departments. Each session will assess 3 topics that were revealed from the web-based assessment results (See Attachment E: Assessment Topics). The focus group facilitation guide consists of four primary questions that will be used to gather in depth details and engage respondents in detailed discussion around the current and emerging challenges across each of the six topics addressed at each event and as listed in Attachment E: Assessment Topics. These topics resulted from qualitative analysis of the mentioned web-based assessment.
Information generated during the focus groups will be recorded using a laptop with word processing software. Focus group participant names will not be associated with any responses. The recorded notes will remain secure and stored on secure servers with controlled access. The CDC and only the project partners, NEHA, funded by a contract, and Baylor University, the academic consultant, will have access to the focus group aggregated notes that will remain secure and stored on secure servers with controlled access. Data collected during the assessments will be shared only in aggregate form.
Although participation in this data collection is voluntary, the project team will make every effort to maximize the rate of response. A notification email with a link to the recruitment instrument will be sent to all respondents. The instrument was designed with particular focus on streamlining questions to allow for skipping questions based on responses to previous questions, thereby minimizing response burden. Following the distribution of the invitation to participate in the focus group, respondents will have three weeks to complete the recruitment instrument. A reminder email will be sent one week after the notification email asking respondents to complete the instrument if interested in participating. Those who do not respond within two weeks from the reminder email will be considered non-responders. A confirmation email will be sent to all respondents selected for focus group participation within two weeks after the instrument closes. If there is no response within three business days after the focus group confirmation email is sent, a telephone call will be placed to determine whether the individual is interested in participating in the focus group.
The estimate for burden hours for the recruitment instrument is based on a pilot test conducted by the same 6 public health professionals. In the pilot test, the average time to complete the recruitment instrument including time for reviewing instructions, gathering needed information and completing the instrument, was approximately 2 minutes (range: 2 – 3). For the purposes of estimating burden hours, the upper limit of this range (3 minutes) is used.
The estimate for burden hours is based on a pilot test of the focus group facilitation guide across the defined topics by 6 public health professionals. In the pilot test, the average time for completion was approximately 90 minutes, totaling to 180 minutes per respondent given each respondent will engage in two facilitation guide sessions. For the purposes of estimating burden hours, 180 minutes will be used.
Name: Justin Gerding
Title: Acting Lead, Practice Support Section
Organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Address: 4770 Buford Highway, MS F-58, Chamblee, GA 30341
Phone: 770-488-3972
Fax: 770-488-7310
Email: [email protected]
Name: John Sarisky
Title: Acting Chief, Water, Food, and Environmental Health Services Branch
Organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Address: 4770 Buford Highway, MS F-58, Chamblee, GA 30341
Phone: 770-488-4131
Fax: 770-488-7310
Email: [email protected]
Name: Sandra Whitehead
Title: Director, Program & Partnership Development
Organization: National Environmental Health Association
Address: 720 S. Colorado Blvd., Suite 1000-N Denver, CO 80246
Phone: 850-727-2431
Fax: 303-691-9490
Email: [email protected]
Name: Elizabeth Landeen
Title: Associate Director, Program & Partnership Development
Organization: National Environmental Health Association
Address: 720 S. Colorado Blvd., Suite 1000-N Denver, CO 80246
Phone: 702-802-3924
Fax: 888-814-9866
Name: Bryan Brooks
Title: Director, Environmental Health Science Program
Organization: Baylor University
Address: One Bear Place #97266 Waco, TX 76798-7266
Phone: 254-710-6553
Fax: 254-710-3409
Attachment D: Facilitation Guide
Attachment E: Assessment Topics
Attachment G: Notification Email
Attachment H: Reminder Email
Attachment I: Confirmation Email
Attachment J: Confirmation Call
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | Gilliam, Adzua H. (CDC/OSTLTS/DPHPI) |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2021-01-21 |