Notice2022-04102
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
February 28, 2022
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." This proposed information collection was previously published in the Federal Register on December 8th, 2021 and allowed 60 days for public comment. AHRQ did not receive comments from members of the public. The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public comment.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 39 (Monday, February 28, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 39 (Monday, February 28, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11074-11076]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-04102]
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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, 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.''
This proposed information collection was previously published in the
Federal Register on December 8th, 2021 and allowed 60 days for public
comment. AHRQ did not receive comments from members of the public. The
purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public
comment.
DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by March 30, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of
this notice to <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>. Find this particular
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.
[[Page 11075]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Doris Lefkowitz, AHRQ Reports
Clearance Officer, (301) 427-1477, or by email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#ee8a819c879dc0828b88858199879a94aeafa6bcbfc086869dc0898198"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ed89829f849ec381888b86829a849997adaca5bfbcc385859ec38a829b">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Proposed Project
AHRQ's National Nursing Home COVID-19 Coordinating Center
As of February 3, 2022, nursing homes have reported 902,964
confirmed cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
(SARS-CoV-2) infection and coronavirus disease since 2019 (COVID-19),
resulting in over 147,000 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
<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:
<bullet> Survey of all participating nursing homes (approximately
8,308) and a 50% representative sample of nonparticipating nursing
homes (approximately 2,782) eligible for the 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.
<bullet> 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 1,662 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 556 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 the
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 60 minutes, including time
for respondents to provide verbal consent for participation and ask any
questions at the start.
[[Page 11076]]
The total annual burden hours for the survey and key informant
interviews are estimated to be 688 hours, as shown in Exhibit 1.
Exhibit 1--Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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Number of Hours per Total burden
Form name respondents response hours
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Survey instrument--participant.................................. 1,662 .33 548
Survey instrument--nonparticipant............................... 556 .08 44
Nursing Home Key Informant Interview............................ 96 1 96
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Total....................................................... 2,314 .............. 688
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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 $41,837.28
Exhibit 2--Estimated Annualized Cost Burden
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Number of Total burden Average hourly Total cost
Form name respondents hours wage rate ** burden
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Survey instrument--participant.................. 1,662 548 \1\ $60.81 $33,323.88
Survey instrument--nonparticipant............... 556 44 \1\ 60.81 2,675.64
Nursing Home Key Informant Interview 96 96 \1\ 60.81 5,837.76
(Management)...................................
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Total....................................... 2,314 688 .............. 41,837.28
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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.
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: February 22, 2022.
Marquita Cullom,
Associate Director.
[FR Doc. 2022-04102 Filed 2-25-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-90-P
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