2013-00033. Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection: Comment Request

ACTION:

Notice.

Summary: In compliance with the requirement for opportunity for public comment on proposed data collection projects (section 3506(c)(2)(A) of Title 44, United States Code, as amended by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Pub. L. 104-13), the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) publishes periodic summaries of proposed projects being developed for submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. To request more information on the proposed project or to obtain a copy of the data collection plans and draft instruments, email [e-mail] or call the HRSA Reports Clearance Officer at [phone].

HRSA especially requests comments on: (1) The necessity and utility of the proposed information collection for the proper performance of the agency's functions, (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden, (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected, and (4) the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology to minimize the information collection burden.

Information Collection Request Title: Bureau of Health Professions (BHPr) Performance Data Collection (OMB No. 0915-0061)—Revision

Abstract: Over 40 BHPr programs award grants to health professions schools and training programs across the United States to develop, expand, and enhance training, and to strengthen the distribution of the health workforce. Many of these programs are governed by the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 201 et seq.), specifically Titles III, VII, and VIII. Performance information is collected in the HRSA Performance Report for Grants and Cooperative Agreements (PRGCA). Data collection activities at application, progress, and annual performance satisfy statutory and programmatic requirements for performance measurement and evaluation (including specific Title III, VII, and VIII requirements), as well as Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) requirements. The Affordable Care Act impacted a broad range of health workforce programs administered by BHPr. It reauthorized many of these programs and, in some cases, expanded eligibility, modified program activities, and/or established new requirements. The Affordable Care Act also created new health professions programs. Therefore, it was necessary to reexamine BHPr's existing performance measures to ensure that they address these changes, meet evolving program management needs, and respond to emerging workforce concerns.

The purpose of the proposed revised data collection is to enhance analysis and reporting of grantee training activities and education, identify intended practice locations, and report outcomes of funded initiatives. Data collected from these grant programs will also provide a description of the program activities of more than 1,600 reporting grantees to better inform policymakers on the barriers, opportunities, and outcomes involved in health care workforce development. The proposed measures focus on five key outcomes: (1) Increasing the workforce supply of diverse well-educated practitioners, (2) influencing the distribution of practitioners to practice in underserved and rural areas, (3) enhancing the quality of education, (4) diversifying the pipeline for new health professionals, and (5) supporting educational infrastructure to increase the capacity to train more health professionals.

Revisions to the current reporting will require the collection of baseline data at the grant application and award stages and will include improved performance reporting at three levels of measurement: individual-level, program-specific, and program cluster-level.

Burden Statement: Burden in this context means the time expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, disclose, or provide the information requested. This includes the time needed to review instructions, to develop, acquire, install and utilize technology and systems for the purpose of collecting, validating and verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and providing information, to train personnel and to be able to respond to a collection of information, to search data sources, to complete and review the collection of information, and to transmit or otherwise disclose the information. The total annual burden hours estimated for this Information Collection Request are summarized in the table below.

The annual estimate of burden is as follows:

Form name	Number of respondents	Number of responses per respondent	Total responses	Average burden per response (in hours)	Total burden hours
Application	2,500	1	2,500	8	20,000
Program Aggregate Data Collection *	500	1	500	10	5,000
Individual-level Data Collection	800	1	800	5	4,000
Total					29,000
* Program aggregate data collection will only be required for programs that do not provide direct financial support to students.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments to [e-mail] or mail the HRSA Reports Clearance Officer, Room 10-29, Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857.

Deadline: Comments on this Information Collection Request must be received within 60 days of this notice.

Dated: December 26, 2012.

Bahar Niakan,

Director, Division of Policy and Information Coordination.