E6-2507. Proposed Collection; Comment Request; NCCAM Customer Service Data Collection

Summary: In compliance with the requirement of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, for opportunity for public comment on proposed data collection projects, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will publish periodic summaries of proposed projects to be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval.

Proposed Collection: Title: NCCAM Customer Service Data Collection. Type of Information Collection Request: Renewal. Need and Use of Information Collection: NCCAM provides the public, patients, families, health care providers, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practitioners, and others with the latest scientifically based information on CAM and information about NCCAM's programs through a variety of channels, including its toll-free telephone information service and its quarterly newsletter. To ensure that NCCAM is effectively serving all audiences, NCCAM needs to continue to measure customer satisfaction with NCCAM telephone interactions and the NCCAM newsletter and to assess which audiences are being reached through these channels. This effort involves a telephone survey consisting of 10 questions, which are asked of 25 percent of all callers, for an annual total of approximately 1,210 respondents; a print newsletter survey consisting of 10 questions, which is sent to all print newsletter subscribers, for an annual total of approximately 339 respondents; and an online newsletter survey consisting of 14 questions, which all visitors to the newsletter page on the NCCAM Web site have the option of completing until an annual total of 500 responses are received. NCCAM uses the data collected from the surveys to characterize NCCAM users and help program staff measure user satisfaction, assess impact of their communication efforts, tailor services to the public and health care providers, measure service use among special populations, and assess the most effective media and messages to reach these audiences. Frequency of Response: Once for the telephone survey, and three times for the newsletter survey (once every year to measure any changes in customer satisfaction and/or audience profile). Affected Public: Individuals and households. Type of Respondents: For the telephone survey, patients, spouses/family/friends of patients, health care providers, physicians, CAM practitioners, or other individuals contacting the NCCAM Clearinghouse; for the print newsletter survey, subscribers to the print NCCAM newsletter; and for the online newsletter survey, visitors to the newsletter page on NCCAM's Web site.

The annual reporting burden is as follows.

Type of respondents	Estimated number of respondents	Estimated number of responses per respondent	Average burden hours per response	Estimated total annual burden hours requested
Telephone survey:
Individuals or households	1,210	1	0.075	91
Newsletter survey (print):
Individuals or households	339	1	0.050	17
Newsletter survey (online):
Individuals or households	500	1	0.050	25
Annualized totals	2,049			133

The annualized cost to respondents is estimated at $1,770 for the telephone survey, $507 for the print newsletter survey, and $714 for the online newsletter survey. There are no Capital Costs to report. There are no Operating or Maintenance Costs to report.

Request for Comments: Written comments and/or suggestions from the public and affected agencies are invited on 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; (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.

For Further Information Contact: To request more information on the proposed project or to obtain a copy of the data collection plans and instruments, contact Christy Thomsen, Director, Office of Communications and Public Liaison, NCCAM, 31 Center Drive, Room 2B11, Bethesda, MD 20892-2182; or fax your request to 301-402-4741; or e-mail [e-mail]. Ms. Thomsen can be contacted by telephone at 301-451-8876.

Comments Due Date: Comments regarding this information collection are best assured of having their full effect if received within 60 days of the date of this publication.

Dated: February 14, 2006.

Christy Thomsen,

Director, Office of Communications and Public Liaison, National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, National Institutes of Health.