Non-Substantive Change Request Memo

Request for Non-Substantive Change

A Longitudinal Examination of Mental and Physical Health among Police Associated with COVID-19

OMB Approval 0920-1350

Justification for Non-substantive change:

We are submitting this nonsubstantive change request to OMB Control No. 0920-1350. There are two changes that we would like to incorporate:

The first change is made to address the discrepancy that the incentive in both SSA Part A and the consent form is different from the incentive amounts in Part B. Question 3. Discussion of incentives in these documents has been corrected.

The second change is to revise the language in Supporting Statement Parts A and B describing the incentives for this study. Per OMB guidance, NIOSH has removed the term “token of appreciation” and replaced with “monetary incentive.”

Part B. Question 3 currently reads:

3. Methods to Maximize Response Rates and Deal with No Response

If officers do not respond after two letters inviting them to participate in the study have been sent, UB staff will contact the officers by phone to invite them to participate in the study. If they say they are not interested in participating they will not be contacted further. Recruitment will continue until either 200 police officers have been recruited or there are no more eligible officers to recruit (i.e. they did not work during COVID-19 and did not participate in one of the BCOPS studies).

As described in Section A9, as a token of appreciation respondents will receive $100 for participating in the first round of the study and $50 for completing round two of the study. Previous experience indicates that this is an extremely difficult population to recruit and that without this token of appreciation the participation rate will likely be very low.

The highlighted section has been changed to read:

As described in Section A9, respondents will receive $150 for participating in the first round of the study and $50 for completing round two of the study.

Part A Section 9 currently reads:

9. Explanation of Any Payment or Gift to Respondents

Participants will receive a token of appreciation for participating in this study.

The American police population is noted for resistance to provision of information [12, 13]. The police have been described as a highly cohesive closed society that often refuses those outside of the organization access to either information or personnel. Police officers are hesitant to divulge information to investigators for fear that it may compromise their position or safety. Sharing health and confidential information is a concern in all occupational cohorts, but particularly the police and represents a real obstacle to successful recruitment.

A token of appreciation is being given to the police officers for three reasons. First, based on the uniqueness of this population and the fifteen years of research experience UB has had with the Buffalo police while conducting the BCOPS studies, a token of appreciation is seen as essential for participation. Without the token of appreciation, UB asserts that they will not be able to reach the participation goal of 200 police officers. Secondly, given the amount of time the person is participating, approximately 3 hours and collecting saliva outside of clinic over the course of a day a $150 incentive is seen as reasonable. The second round of surveys will take approximately one hour with a token of appreciation of $50. Lastly, these officers have participated in BCOPS studies over the last fifteen years and have received a token of appreciation when they participate in studies conducted by UB. Although historical precedent should not dictate the token of appreciation, with this population, at this time, it is anticipated that the lack of a token of appreciation might actually serve as a disincentive to participation.

We’ve updated this section to read:

9. Explanation of Any Payment or Gift to Respondents

Participants will receive a monetary incentive for participating in this study.

The American police population is noted for resistance to provision of information [12, 13]. The police have been described as a highly cohesive closed society that often refuses those outside of the organization access to either information or personnel. Police officers are hesitant to divulge information to investigators for fear that it may compromise their position or safety. Sharing health and confidential information is a concern in all occupational cohorts, but particularly the police and represents a real obstacle to successful recruitment.

A monetary incentive is being given to the police officers for three reasons. First, based on the uniqueness of this population and the fifteen years of research experience UB has had with the Buffalo police while conducting the BCOPS studies, a monetary incentive is seen as essential for participation. Without this, UB asserts that they will not be able to reach the participation goal of 200 police officers. Secondly, given the amount of time the person is participating, approximately 3 hours and collecting saliva outside of clinic over the course of a day a $150 incentive is seen as reasonable. The second round of surveys will take approximately one hour with a $50 incentive. Lastly, these officers have participated in BCOPS studies over the last fifteen years and have received an incentive when they participate in studies conducted by UB. Although historical precedent should not dictate a monetary incentive, with this population, at this time, it is anticipated that the lack of this incentive might actually serve as a disincentive to participation.

Lastly, the consent form was updated, it currently reads:

Will I receive anything for my participation in this research?

As a token of our appreciation for your participation, we will provide you with $150.00 for completion of the first visit in the clinic. As an additional token of appreciation we will provide you with $50.00 for the second time you participate at a later date.

We’ve updated it to read:

Will I receive anything for my participation in this research?

For your participation, we will provide you with $150.00 for completion of the first visit in the clinic. We will provide you with $50.00 for the second time you participate at a later date.