2011-9720. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA); Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Study of Substance Abuse doc.com Module Project

SUMMARY:

In compliance with Section 3507(a)(1)(D) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 concerning opportunity for public comment on proposed collections of information, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), 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.

This proposed information collection was previously published in the Federal Register in Volume 75, No. 242, pages 79008-79009, on December 17, 2010 and allowed 60 days for public comment. No public comments were received. The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public comment.

Proposed Collection: Title: Study of Substance Abuse doc.com Module Project. Type of Information Collection Request: NEW. Need and Use of Information Collection: This is a request for a two-year clearance to conduct a research study to assess the efficacy of a specific interactive Web-based teaching module in the field of professional education of healthcare providers. This online module was developed as a work product by the same team of investigators from Drexel University College of Medicine (DUCOM) and University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (Penn Med) under a contract as part of NIDA's Centers of Excellence (CoE) for Physician Information. This project will assess efficacy of the NIDA CoE online teaching module with educational interventions in enhancing: (1) The knowledge of healthcare professionals about substance use disorders; (2) attitudes of healthcare professionals toward patients with these disorders; and (3) communication skills of healthcare professionals in providing assessment and referral to treatment for patients who abuse substances. The overall goal of this project is to assess the efficacy of an educational intervention, which should result in an increase in the involvement of primary care providers in the screening, managing and, when appropriate, referring patients with substance use disorders. This effort is made according to Executive Order 12862, which directs Federal agencies that provide significant services directly to the public to survey customers to determine the kind and quality of services they want and their level of satisfaction with existing services.

The project will utilize a randomized cluster controlled trial design that compares the group that receives educational exposure to the set of new educational interventions (NIDA online teaching module plus educational adjuncts) to a control group that receives exposure to the standard medical school or residency educational curriculum related to substance use disorders. The project will use a repeated measures approach to assess the educational intervention's efficacy (i.e., individuals will take surveys before and after exposure to the intervention or to the control curriculum). The outcomes of the study will be based on changes in knowledge, attitudes, and indirect measures of communication skills before and after the intervention, compared with the changes in these parameters in the control group.

Frequency of Response: This project will be conducted annually or biennially. Affected Public: Individuals and businesses. Type of Respondents: Medical students and resident physicians. The annual reporting burden is calculated as follows: Estimated Total Annual Number of Respondents: 708; Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 4 for medical students; 2 for resident physicians; Average Burden Hours per Response: 0.17. Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours Requested: 377. There are no Capital Costs to report. There are no Operating or Maintenance Costs to report. The estimated annualized burden is summarized below.

Respondents	Estimated number of subjects	Estimated number of surveys per subject	Average burden hours per survey	Estimated total burden hours
Medical Students	400	4	0.17	272
Primary Care Resident Physicians	308	2	0.17	105
Total	708			377

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 functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information; (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 respondents, including through the use of automated 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: Office of Management and Budget, Office of Regulatory Affairs, OIRA [e-mail] v or by fax to 202-395-6974, Attention: Desk Officer for NIH. To request more information on the proposed project or to obtain a copy of the data collection plans and instruments, contact: Elisabeth Davis, MPH, NIH/NIDA/OSPC, 6001 Executive Boulevard, Bethesda, MD 20824-9591, 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 60 days of the date of this publication.

Dated: March 23, 2011.

Mary Affeldt,

Executive Officer, (OM Director) NIDA.