2021 OMB Package_UAD TTHY_Focus Groups Submission Memo

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback – HHS Communication” (OMB Control Number: 0990-0459)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION:

“Talk. They Hear You.” Public Service Announcement Focus Group Protocols

PURPOSE:

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, is requesting OMB approval for one new focus group tool consisting of the following:

• Focus Group Protocol (Attachment A)

• Focus Group Discussions (FGD) Recruitment and Screening (Attachment B)

• Release and Consent Form (Attachment C)

• FGD Facilitator’s Guide (Attachment D)

The overall objective of the focus groups is to test one newly developed public service announcement (PSA) concept that targets parents and caregivers of children under age 21 for the “Talk. They Hear You.”® campaign. The focus groups will help inform SAMHSA on how the PSA concept resonates with the target population. PSA concept testing among parents and caregivers will determine whether the concept is effective at conveying the importance of talking with their kids about underage drinking and other drug/substance use, and how parents and caregivers can have these tough conversations with their children both early and often. The information derived from the focus groups will help improve the concept and guide developers in making them more memorable, understandable, relevant, and appealing to parents and caregivers. Focus group results will provide a solid foundation on which to develop the campaign’s new PSA and accompanying materials. Input from the target audience is a critical part of the PSA and materials development process and will inform the refinement of messaging and development of a more informed and relevant “Talk. They Hear You.” campaign.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

The target audience for the three focus groups are parents and caregivers of children aged 10 to 20, with an emphasis on recruiting parents and caregivers with children aged 10 to 13 and 14 to 18 with regional balance across the U.S. Participant recruitment and administration of the focus groups will be conducted by an outside contractor/vendor, EurekaFacts.

TYPE OF COLLECTION:

[ ] Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form [ ] Customer Satisfaction Survey

[ ] Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software [ ] Small Discussion Group

[ X ] Focus Group [ ] Other: ______________________

CERTIFICATION:

I certify the following to be true:

1. The collection is voluntary.

2. The collection is low-burden for respondents and low-cost for the federal government.

3. The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other federal agencies.

4. The results are not intended to be disseminated to the public.

5. Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy decisions.

6. The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have experience with the program or may have experience with the program in the future.

Name: Robert Vincent, MS.Ed______________________________ (Project Manager’s Name)

To assist review, please provide answers to the following questions:

Personally Identifiable Information:

1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [ X ] Yes [ ] No

2. If Yes, is the information that will be collected included in records that are subject to the Privacy Act of 1974? [ ] Yes [ X ] No

3. If Applicable, has a System or Records Notice been published? [ ] Yes [ ] No

Gifts or Payments:

Is an incentive (e.g., money, reimbursement of expenses or token of appreciation) provided to participants? [ X ] Yes [ ] No If Yes, please describe the incentive and provide a justification for the amount.

Each participant will receive an $80 incentive (e-gift card) for their participation in the 120-minute focus group. Since incentive amounts for information collections submitted under this generic OMB package typically do not exceed $40 for 60 minute in-person surveys involving populations that are difficult to recruit online, our $80 incentive for a 120-minute focus group is in alignment.

BURDEN HOURS

	Category of Respondent	Number of Respondents	Responses per Respondent	Average Burden per Response (Hours)	Total Burden (Hours)
Initial Contact (screener)		753	1	0.03	22.59
Follow-up		271	1	0.08	21.68
Confirmation/Scheduling		144	1	0.17	24.48
	Secured Focus Group Participants – Parents and caregivers of children aged 10–20 with an emphasis on parents and caregivers with a child(ren) aged 10 to 13 and 14 to 18 with regional balance across the U.S.	24	1	1.73	41.52
	Totals (recruitment and focus groups)	1,192	_	0.09251	110

(1) About 271 will be eligible and we will follow up with them. (2) Approximately 144 will respond and we will begin scheduling them from this pool. (3) Of these, at least 24 will be eligible and available to participate. There should be enough eligible to over-schedule the focus groups to account for any no-shows.

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the federal government is $44,700.

(Note: Amount should include contractor costs if the contractor is involved in the survey/collection)

Staff or Contractor	Average Hours per Study	Average Hourly Rate	Average Cost
Contractor instrument preparation, conduction, analysis (GS-13 equivalent)	124.66	$100.00	$12,466.00
FTE survey preparation, conduction, analysis (GS-13)	243.55	$125.00	$30,444.00
FTE manager survey review (GS-14)	14.32	$125.00	$1,790.00
AVERAGE COST PER FOCUS GROUP			$10,148.00
AVERAGE 1-YEAR COST			$44,700.00

If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please provide answers to the following questions:

The selection of your targeted respondents

1. Do you have a customer list or something similar that defines the universe of potential respondents and do you have a sampling plan for selecting from this universe? [ X ] Yes [ ] No

If the answer is Yes, please provide a description of both below (or attach the sampling plan)?

If the answer is No, please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them?

The “Talk. They Hear You.” campaign team will be partnering with EurekaFacts, a market research firm. Participant recruitment will be based on the results of a screening questionnaire to be developed by the “Talk. They Hear You.” campaign team and applied by EurekaFacts. Potential participants will be screened for being the parent or caregiver of a child(ren) aged 10 to 20, with an emphasis on parents and caregivers with a child(ren) aged 10 to 13 and 14 to 18 with regional balance across the U.S.

Focus groups will be conducted preferably after work hours, based on potential participants’ availability. At the beginning of each session, participants will complete a release/consent form for use of the information provided (Attachment C). To solicit greater participant interest and commitment and to reduce recruiting time and cost, SAMHSA will offer each focus group participant an $80 incentive (e-gift card) for their participation.

Administration of the Survey

1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)

[ X ] Web-based or other forms of social media.

[ ] Telephone.

[ ] In-person.

[ ] Mail.

[ ] Other, explain.

2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [ X ] Yes [ ] No

Please make sure that all survey materials, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.