E9-31071. Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; A Generic Submission for Formative Research, Pretesting, and Customer Satisfaction of NCI's Communication and Education Resources (NCI)

SUMMARY:

Under the provisions of Section 3507(a)(1)(D) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request for review and approval of the information collection listed below. This proposed information collection was previously published in the Federal Register on October 28, 2009 (74 FR 55558) and allowed 60 days for public comment. One comment in regards to NCI's communication on October 28, 2009, and we responded on October 28, 2009, “We received your comment. We will take your comments into consideration”. The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public comment. The National Institutes of Health may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is not required to respond to, an information collection that has been extended, revised, or implemented on or after October 1, 1995, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

Proposed Collection: Title: A Generic Submission for Formative Research, Pretesting, and Customer Satisfaction of NCI's Communication and Education Resources (NCI). Type of Information Collection Request: REVISION. Need and Use of Information Collection: In order to carry out NCI's legislative mandate to educate and disseminate information about cancer prevention, detection, diagnosis, and treatment to a wide variety of audiences and organizations (e.g., cancer patients, their families, the general public, health providers, the media, voluntary groups, scientific and medical organizations), it is beneficial for NCI, through its Office of Communications and Education (OCE), to pretest NCI communications strategies, concepts, and messages while they are under development. This pretesting, or formative evaluation, helps ensure that the messages, communication materials, and information services created by NCI have the greatest capacity of being received, understood, and accepted by their target audiences. Since NCI's OCE also is responsible for the design, implementation, and evaluation of education programs over the entire cancer continuum and management of NCI initiatives that address specific challenges in cancer research and treatment, it is also necessary to ensure that customers are satisfied with programs. This customer satisfaction research helps ensure the relevance, utility, and appropriateness of the many educational programs and products that OCE and NCI produce. OCE will use a variety of qualitative (focus groups, interviews) and quantitative (paper, phone, in-person, and web surveys) methodologies to conduct this formative and customer satisfaction research, allowing NCI to: (1) Understand characteristics (attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors) of the intended target audience and use this information in the development of effective communication tools and strategies; (2) use a feedback loop to help refine, revise, and enhance messages, materials, products, and programs—ensuring that they have the greatest relevance, utility, appropriateness, and impact for/to target audiences; and (3) expend limited program resource dollars wisely and effectively. This package represents the combination of a currently approved generic submission, “Pretesting of NCI's Office of Communications Messages,” (OMB No. 0925-0046) and a previously approved generic submission, “Customer Satisfaction with Educational Programs and Products of the NCI” (OMB No. 0925-0526). Frequency of Response: On occasion. Affected Public: Individuals or households; Businesses or other for profit; Not-for-profit institutions; Federal Government; State, local, or tribal Government. Type of Respondents: Adult cancer patients; members of the public; health care professionals; organizational representatives. The table below outlines the estimated burden hours required for a three-year approval of this generic submission. There are no Capital Costs, Operating Costs, and/or Maintenance Costs to report.

Table 1—Estimates for Burden Hours For Three Years

[Generic Study]

Survey method	Total number of respondents	Frequency of response	Minutes/hour per response	Total burden hours
Focus Groups	900	1	90/60 (1.5)	1,350.00
Individual In-Depth Interviews (Typically longer than 15 minutes, includes Web site usability testing)	600	1	45/60 (.75)	450.00
Brief Interviews (Typically less than 5 minutes)	19,000	1	10/60 (.17)	3,166.67
Surveys (Web, phone, in-person, paper-and-pencil)	12,500	1	10/60 (.17)	2,083.33
Totals	33,000			7,050.00

Request for Comments: Written comments and/or suggestions from the public and affected agencies are invited on one or more of the following points: (1) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the function of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) The accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Direct Comments to OMB: Written comments and/or suggestions regarding the item(s) contained in this notice, especially regarding the estimated public burden and associated response time, should be directed to the Attention: NIH Desk Officer, Office of Management and Budget at [e-mail] or by fax to 202-395-6974. To request more information on the proposed project or to obtain a copy of the data collection plans and instruments, contact Nina Goodman, Senior Public Health Advisor, Office of Communications and Education (OCE), NCI, NIH, 6116 Executive Blvd., Suite 400, Rockville, MD 20892, call non-toll-free number 301-435-7789 or e-mail your request, including your address to: [e-mail].

Comments Due Date: Comments regarding this information collection are best assured of having their full effect if received within 30 days of the date of this publication.

Dated: December 21, 2009.

Kristine Miller,

NCI Project Clearance Liaison, National Institutes of Health.