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GenIC Clearance for CDC/ATSDR

Formative Research and Tool Development

Focus Groups with Consumers on Oropouche

OMB Control No. 0920-1154

October 3, 2024

Supporting Statement B

Contact:

Rudith Vice

National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

1600 Clifton Road, NE

Atlanta, Georgia 30333

Email: [email protected]

Table of Contents

Table of Contents 2

1. Respondent Universe and Sampling Methods 2

2. Procedures for the Collection of Information 3

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

4. Test of Procedures or Methods to be Undertaken 4

5. Individuals Consulted on Statistical Aspects and Individuals Collecting and/or Analyzing Data 4

The data collection will not involve any statistical methods and no statistical generalizations will be made beyond the particular respondents.

1. Respondent Universe and Sampling Methods

To participate in the three consumer focus groups on Oropouche, participants must meet the following primary inclusion criteria:

For consumers (“at-risk population”):

1. 18-54 years of age

2. Female

3. Currently live the majority of the year in the United States.

4. Self-identify as pregnant or planning pregnancy within the next 12 months.

5. Have previously traveled to Cuba or Dominican Republic (1^st and 2^nd groups); Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, or Peru (3^rd group) at least twice in the past five years.

6. Intend to travel to Cuba or Dominican Republic (1^st and 2^nd groups); Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, or Peru (3^rd group) at least once in the next 12 months.

Potential participants are drawn from a national panel of individuals who have opted in to participate in focus groups on various topics. The contractor KRC Research will direct a subcontracted panel provider to distribute an invitation to screen for the focus groups to members of its panel, starting with those individuals whose panel profiles suggest they are most likely to qualify (e.g., have known travel habits). When an individual receives the invitation to screen, they will either complete a screening questionnaire online (Attachment 1) or via the phone in a call with a panel provider staff member. Individuals must pass the screening questionnaire without being disqualified based on their answers or due to quotas reached on certain characteristics.

A total of 24 consumers (for three focus groups) will be purposively selected from this pool of eligible participants. Within the parameters of each audience, participants will be selected to ensure a variety of demographic and other variables (e.g., age, community type, income, education, pregnancy status).

Selected participants will be invited to confirm their interest and availability in participating. Once confirmed, a confirmation message will be sent to the participants with logistical information, as well as the date and time of the focus group. A day or two prior to the scheduled discussion, participants will receive a reminder email. To incentivize participation, participants will be offered a $75 incentive for their time, in line with market research recruitment standards for these data collections. If, at the time of invitation, the participant declines to participate, a replacement participant will be selected from the pool of eligible participants.

A contracting company will conduct all recruitment and screening activities.

2. Procedures for the Collection of Information

After completing screening, KRC Research will conduct three 90-minute online focus groups of consumers. Prior to the discussions, participants will be required to sign and date a consent form that outlines the details about the discussion, such as confidentiality and incentive (Attachment 2). They will be sent the form electronically and required to sign it electronically. Project records will be maintained in accordance with the federal record retention requirements. Additionally, at the start of each discussion, respondents are given a brief verbal reminder of the consent form details.

Trained moderators from the contracted firm KRC Research will moderate all focus groups as well as oversee recruitment and screening (described in Section 1). The moderator will use a semi-structured discussion guide for all discussions (Attachment 3). The questions in the discussion guide explore health precautions known and undertaken to prevent bug bites at home and abroad; barriers and challenges to taking precautions; knowledge and attitudes toward vector-borne diseases including Oropouche; sources of information as well as trusted sources; preferred communication channels including if participants prefer information in English or Spanish for above topics; and reactions to draft messaging, language, or concepts about Oropouche for use in CDC communications.

With the consent of each participant, discussions will be audio and video recorded to capture the content of the discussion. Recordings will be converted into transcripts which will be used for analytic purposes in the development of a report. After approval of the final report, recordings will be deleted. Field notes will be taken during the discussions to capture key quotes or expressions. No participants’ personally identifiable information will be shared or made available to anyone outside of the KRC Research evaluation staff and NCEZID DVBD staff directly involved in the data collection.

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

By design, all potential participants in these discussions will be drawn from a panel of individuals who have opted in to participate in studies like this one. The use of panel sampling helps to maximize the efficiency of recruiting, since all possible participants are familiar with the recruiting contractor and many will have been contacted before. Additionally, to maximize response, the screening questionnaire (Attachment 1) is intentionally designed to collect only the minimum amount of information needed to determine the qualifications of participants and ensure a variety of profiles. Quotas for several demographic variables are “loose,” meaning that there is no exact number of individuals who must be recruited with certain criteria. (For example, recruiting “a maximum of four urban or suburban” urban resident per focus group, rather than “exactly 4.”) This reduces the number of individuals who will be screened.

It is sometimes the case that participants do not sign in on time for their discussion, either for unexpected personal reasons, forgetfulness, or other reasons. To minimize the instances of this occurring, respondents are given several days’ advance notice of the discussion and are sent reminder emails the day before and day of the discussion. Should they still not appear, the moderating team at KRC Research has protocols in place so that the recruiting team can quickly email or call the participant to confirm availability.

If the respondent is entirely unresponsive, the focus group may proceed without them. It is a best practice to over-recruit for focus groups, knowing that it is not uncommon to have “no-shows”; for these focus groups, KRC will recruit eight per group to likely seat six—an ideal number for virtual groups.

At the beginning of each discussion itself, participants will be reminded that their participation is voluntary, they do not need to answer any question that they are no comfortable answering, and they may leave the discussion at any time if desired.

4. Test of Procedures or Methods to be Undertaken

No pre-tests are planned for this project.

5. Individuals Consulted on Statistical Aspects and Individuals Collecting and/or Analyzing Data

The following individuals are working under contract with NCEZID DVBD and have been consulted throughout the development and design of this data collection.

Mike Ruddell Vice President, KRC Research 733 10th St NW Washington, DC 20001 Phone: 202-585-2946 Email: [email protected]

Claire Taylor Director, KRC Research 733 10th St NW Washington, DC 20001 Phone: 202-585-2070 Email: [email protected]