Notice2021-26561
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request
Primary source
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Published
December 8, 2021
Issuing agencies
Health and Human Services DepartmentAgency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Abstract
This notice announces the intention of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to request that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approve the proposed information collection project "AHRQ's National Nursing Home COVID-19 Coordinating Center."
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 233 (Wednesday, December 8, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 233 (Wednesday, December 8, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69649-69651]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-26561]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request
AGENCY: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), HHS.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the intention of the Agency for
Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to request that the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) approve the proposed information collection
project ``AHRQ's National Nursing Home COVID-19 Coordinating Center.''
DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by February 7, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted to: Doris Lefkowitz,
Reports Clearance Officer, AHRQ, by email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#02666d706b712c6e6764696d756b767842434a50532c6a6a712c656d74"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3d59524f544e1351585b56524a5449477d7c756f6c1355554e135a524b">[email protected]</span></a>.
Copies of the proposed collection plans, data collection
instruments, and specific details on the estimated burden can be
obtained from the AHRQ Reports Clearance Officer.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Doris Lefkowitz, AHRQ Reports
Clearance Officer, (301) 427-1477, or by email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5d39322f342e7331383b36322a3429271d1c150f0c7335352e733a322b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="13777c617a603d7f7675787c647a676953525b41423d7b7b603d747c65">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Proposed Project
AHRQ's National Nursing Home COVID-19 Coordinating Center
As of June 13, 2021, nursing homes have reported 656,336 confirmed
cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)
infection and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), resulting in over
132,000 COVID-19-related deaths. The U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS) has distributed funds to nursing homes and
launched several initiatives to improve nursing home safety and
infection control. AHRQ's National Nursing Home COVID-19 Action Network
(<a href="https://www.ahrq.gov/nursing-home/about/index.html">https://www.ahrq.gov/nursing-home/about/index.html</a>) (the Network) is a
cornerstone of HHS's response, intended to provide training and
assistance to nursing homes on best practices to minimize transmission
of SARS-CoV-2. The Network expands AHRQ's programmatic efforts to
address quality and safety in long-term care, and aligns with other
agency efforts to provide COVID-19 guidance to nursing homes. As the
pandemic continues, nursing homes require easy access and
implementation support for up-to-date best practices on SARS-CoV-2
infection control, COVID-19 care and management, and safety measures to
protect residents and staff.
AHRQ's National Nursing Home COVID-19 Coordinating Center plays a
complementary role to the Network, serving as a bridge between AHRQ's
Network initiatives and the nursing home quality improvement (QI)
community. The Coordinating Center is tasked with (1) coordinating
engagement with scientific and policy stakeholders to identify safety
needs and best practices, (2) ensuring coordinated development and
dissemination of QI tools and other resources, and (3) assessing the
effectiveness of the Network in providing training and mentorship to
support nursing homes in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As part of the Coordinating Center activities, AHRQ seeks to
conduct an assessment of whether and how the Network activities aided
the nursing homes' efforts to mitigate the challenges posed by the
COVID-19 pandemic. The goals of the performance assessment are to:
1. Assess the reach, retention, and engagement of the Network;
2. study the implementation approach, gaps and barriers;
3. study the long-term impact, sustainability, and replicability of
the training program and Network activities.
This study is being conducted by AHRQ through its Coordinating
Center contractor, NORC at the University of Chicago (NORC), pursuant
to AHRQ's statutory authority to conduct and support training and
technical assistance on health care and on systems for the delivery of
such care. 42 U.S.C. 299a.
Method of Collection
To further achieve the goals of this performance assessment, AHRQ
is requesting OMB approval for new data collection. More specifically,
the new data collection activities intend to collect systematic
information from nursing homes on the following:
<bullet> Motivations for participation and non-participation in the
Network.
<bullet> Context of participation (including state and local
context, and participation in other COVID-19 related-initiatives).
<bullet> Perceptions on recruitment, engagement, and retention,
including facilitators and barriers of engagement and retention.
<bullet> Perceptions on the Network training and mentorship
resources, including access to and utility of the Network training and
resources.
[[Page 69650]]
<bullet> Gaps in knowledge, skills, and resources required for
identifying residents and staff infected with COVID-19.
<bullet> Impacts on the prevention and spread of SARS-CoV-2,
implementation of best practice safety measures; improvement of quality
of care for residents with mild and asymptomatic cases; and reduction
of social isolation for residents, families, and staff.
The primary data collection includes the following activities:
Survey of all (approximately 15,000) nursing homes eligible for the
COVID-19 Provider Relief Fund. Separate survey instruments will be used
for Network participants (``Participant Survey'') and non-participants
(``Non-Participant Survey''). The Participant Survey will be conducted
primarily via a secure web-based platform. The Non-Participant Survey
will be conducted via web and telephone.
Key informant interviews with up to 96 individuals from 32 nursing
homes participating in the Network across all assessment domains,
conducted virtually on a secure platform.
Information collected will inform whether and how the Network
activities aided the nursing homes' efforts to mitigate the challenges
posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. This data collection effort will also
provide information on why nursing homes may not have been able to
participate in the Network (Non-Participant Survey). Findings from the
assessment will allow AHRQ to:
<bullet> Assess the Network's reach and the effectiveness of the
retention and engagement strategies;
<bullet> Study implementation of the Network's training sessions,
mentorship and technical assistance activities, and dissemination of
the safety and quality improvement tools;
<bullet> Study the Network's impact on ensuring availability of
protective equipment, rapid identification of nursing home residents
and staff infected with SARS-CoV-2, entry and transmission of COVID-19,
and improving health outcomes; and
<bullet> Study the long-term impact, sustainability, and
replicability of the training program and Network activities to address
other patient safety and quality improvement priorities.
Estimated Annual Respondent Burden
Survey. The nursing home survey will have two survey instruments:
--Participant Survey for nursing home facilities that participated in
the Network
--Non-Participant Survey for nursing homes that did not participate in
the Network
For the Participant Survey we expect that 1,804 participants (20%
response rate) will agree to participate on behalf of their facilities
and that the survey will take about 20 minutes to complete. For the
Non-Participant Survey, we expect that 1,264 participants will agree to
participate (20% response rate) on behalf of their facilities and that
the survey will take about 5 minutes to complete. This estimate is
based on prior provider survey experience and the response rate for an
earlier customer satisfaction survey, which was approximately 20%.
Key Informant Interviews. Key informant interviews will be
conducted with up to 32 nursing homes (up to 3 staff from each nursing
home in each interview, for a total of 96 staff) involved in the
Network. All interviews are expected to last 30 minutes, including time
for respondents to provide verbal consent for participation and ask any
questions at the start.
The total annual burden hours for the survey and key informant
interviews are estimated to be 744 hours, as shown in Exhibit 1.
Exhibit 1--Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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Number of Total burden Total burden
Form name respondents hours hours
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Survey instrument--participant.................................. 1,804 0.33 595
Survey instrument--nonparticipant............................... 1,264 0.08 101
Nursing Home Key Informant Interview (Management)............... 96 0.50 48
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Total....................................................... 3,164 .............. 744
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Exhibit 2 shows the estimated annual cost burden associated with
the respondents' time to participate in this information collection,
which comes to $45,242.64.
Exhibit 2--Estimated Annualized Cost Burden
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Average hourly
Form name Number of Total burden wage rate ** Total cost
respondents hours ($) burden ($)
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Survey instrument--participant.................. 1,804 595 \1\ 60.81 36,181.95
Survey instrument--nonparticipant............... 1,264 101 \1\ 60.81 6,141.81
Nursing Home Key Informant Interview 96 48 \1\ 60.81 2,918.88
(Management)...................................
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Total....................................... 3,164 744 .............. 45,242.64
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** Wage rates were calculated using the mean hourly wage from the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor
Statistics, May 2020 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates for the United States, <a href="https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm">https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm</a>.
\1\ Average rate for Nursing Care Facilities: Management Occupations.
\2\ Average rate for Nursing Care Facilities: All Occupations.
[[Page 69651]]
Request for Comments
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501-
3520, comments on AHRQ's information collection are requested with
regard to any of the following: (a) Whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of AHRQ's health
care research and health care information dissemination functions,
including whether the information will have practical utility; (b) the
accuracy of AHRQ's estimate of burden (including hours and costs) of
the proposed collection(s) of information; (c) ways to enhance the
quality, utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and
(d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information upon
the respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques
or other forms of information technology.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized
and included in the Agency's subsequent request for OMB approval of the
proposed information collection. All comments will become a matter of
public record.
Dated: December 2, 2021.
Marquita Cullom,
Associate Director.
[FR Doc. 2021-26561 Filed 12-7-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-90-P
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