Response rates for population surveys
have been steadily declining, raising concerns among researchers
and policy makers about the future of survey research as it exists
currently. Seeking to counteract this trend, remain at the cutting
edge of survey research, and work within the constraints of
ever-shrinking budgets, an increasing number of federal surveys
have been exploring the use of web components in their data
collection efforts. This generic clearance request is for web
methodological research, “Testing of Web Survey Design and
Administration for CMS Experience of Care Surveys.” This generic
clearance request encompasses an array of research activities to
add web administration protocols to a series of surveys conducted
by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). This
request seeks burden hours to allow CMS and its contractors to
conduct cognitive in-depth interviews, focus groups, pilot tests,
and usability studies to support a variety of methodological
studies around web modes of data collection. The administration of
web-based surveys should be more economical than employing strictly
traditional modes (mail-only, phone-only, and mixed-mode that
includes mail with phone follow-up of non-respondents), but there
are challenges that must be addressed to ensure valid, reliable
data are collected. All of these challenges will be explored in
this package across a variety of settings. The CMS vision for this
research is to ensure that we can continue to collect quality data
using more innovative, efficient, and analytically powerful modes
of data collection. This research is aimed at a broad audience of
those affected by CMS programs such as Emergency Department
Experience of Care (EDPEC), Fee-for-Service (FFS) Consumer
Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Hospital
CAHPS (HCAHPS), Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug (MA &
PDP) CAHPS, Home Health (HH) CAHPS, Hospice CAHPS, In-Center
Hemodialysis (ICH) CAHPS, the Health Outcomes Survey (HOS), and the
Medicare Advantage and Part D Plan Disenrollment Reasons surveys.
This effort will move CMS towards more innovative approaches for
data collection with the hope of reducing burden and costs of data
collection while improving response rates.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
Form CMS-10694 Gen-IC #2 : HCAHPS Mode Experiment
Comment and Response Summary.docx
Gen-IC #2 : HCAHPS Mode Experiment