Notice2026-19362
Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; Public Comment Request; Questionnaire and Data Collection Testing, Evaluation, and Research for the Health Resources and Services Administration, OMB No. 0915-0379-Revision
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
September 22, 2026
Issuing agencies
Health and Human Services DepartmentHealth Resources and Services Administration
Abstract
In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, HRSA submitted an Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. Comments submitted during the first public review of this ICR will be provided to OMB. OMB will accept further comments from the public during the review and approval period. OMB may act on HRSA's ICR only after the 30-day comment period for this notice has closed.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 182 (Tuesday, September 22, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 182 (Tuesday, September 22, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60136-60138]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-19362]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Health Resources and Services Administration
Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission to OMB for
Review and Approval; Public Comment Request; Questionnaire and Data
Collection Testing, Evaluation, and Research for the Health Resources
and Services Administration, OMB No. 0915-0379--Revision
AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department
of Health and Human Services.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, HRSA
submitted an Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. Comments submitted
during the first public review of this ICR will be provided to OMB. OMB
will accept further comments from the public during the review and
approval period. OMB may act on HRSA's ICR only after the 30-day
comment period for this notice has closed.
DATES: Comments on this ICR should be received no later than October
22, 2026.
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 Review--Open for
Public Comments'' or by using the search function.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request a copy of the clearance
requests submitted to OMB for review, email Samantha Miller, the HRSA
Information Collection Clearance Officer, at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#3646574653444159445d765e44455718515940"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="423223322730352d3029022a3031236c252d34">[email protected]</span></a> or call
(301) 443-9094.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Information Collection Request Title: Questionnaire and Data
Collection Testing, Evaluation, and Research for HRSA--OMB No. 0915-
0379--Revision.
Abstract: The purpose of this Umbrella ICR is to inform the
development of new questions, questionnaires, and tools; pilot/pre-test
instruments under development; and identify problems in instruments
currently in use by soliciting feedback from members of the public.
Using this ICR, individual information collections related to the
development or revision of HRSA data collection instruments go through
an abbreviated approval process called a ``generic'' or ``fast-track''
information collection. This allows program offices to efficiently
gather a suitable pool of candidates within the varied time periods
available for participant recruitment.
[[Page 60137]]
Information collected under this generic clearance will not be used
for data collection, reports, or policy documents to be released to the
public. It is anticipated that data collection approved under this
generic clearance will rely heavily on qualitative techniques and not
the collection of numerical data. In general, these activities are not
designed to yield results that meet generally accepted standards of
statistical rigor but designed to obtain information to develop clearer
and more effective and efficient data collection tools that will yield
more accurate results and decrease public non-response. The forms
submitted under this generic clearance will be voluntary, low-burden,
and uncontroversial.
A 60-day notice published in the Federal Register on June 18, 2026,
vol. 91, No. 17; pp. 36869-71. There were no public comments.
Need and Proposed Use of the Information: HRSA conducts interviews,
focus groups, cognitive testing, usability tests, field tests/pilot
interviews, and surveys for data collection instrument development and
evaluation (including assessment of response errors in data collection
instruments). HRSA staff use various techniques to evaluate data
collection instruments such as interviewer-administered, self-
administered, telephone, Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing,
Computer Assisted Self-Interviewing, Audio Computer-Assisted Self-
Interviewing, and web-based questionnaires.
Professionally recognized procedures are followed in each
information collection activity to ensure collection of high-quality
information. Examples of these procedures could include the following:
<bullet> Monitoring by supervisory staff of some telephone
interviews;
<bullet> Conducting interviews using methods including ``think-
aloud'' techniques and debriefings;
<bullet> Computerizing data-entry from mail or paper-and-pencil
surveys using scannable forms or double-key entry (i.e., two people
input the data from mail or paper-and-pencil surveys into an electronic
format, and then comparing the two sets of entries for anomalies);
<bullet> Monitoring by observers of focus groups and recording
(e.g., video recording, audio recording) of focus group proceedings
(subject to participant consent); and
<bullet> Employing commonly used statistical validation techniques
to ensure accuracy (such as disallowing out-of-range values) of data
submitted through on-line surveys.
Each information collection under this ICR will specify the testing
and evaluation procedures to be used. Participation will be fully
voluntary, and non-participation will not affect eligibility for, or
receipt of, future HRSA health services research activities or grant
awards, recruitment, or participation. Appropriate consent procedures
will be customized and used for each information collection activity
and any collection of personal, privacy-protected information will be
handled in accordance with all applicable federal requirements. If HRSA
wishes to record the encounter, the respondent's permission to record
will be obtained before beginning the interview. If consent is not
provided, the interview will either not be recorded or not be
conducted. When screening is used (e.g., quota sampling), the screening
will be as brief as possible, and the screening questionnaire will be
provided to OMB for review.
The particular information collection methods used will vary, but
may include the following:
<bullet> Individual in-depth interviews--In-depth interviews will
commonly be used to ensure that the respondent understands the meaning
of a questionnaire or strategy. When in-depth interviewing is used, the
interview guide will be provided to OMB for review.
<bullet> Focus groups--Focus groups will be used to obtain insights
into beliefs and understandings of the target audience early in the
development of a questionnaire or tool. When focus groups are used, the
focus group discussion guide will be provided to OMB for review.
<bullet> Expert/Gatekeeper review of tools--In some instances,
medical providers or other gatekeepers may review tools to provide
feedback on the acceptability and usability of a particular tool. This
will usually be in addition to an individual user pretesting the tool.
<bullet> Record abstractions--On occasion, the development of a
tool or other information collection requires review and interaction
with records, rather than individuals.
<bullet> ``Dress rehearsal'' of a specific protocol--In some
instances, the proposed pre-testing will constitute a walkthrough of
the intended data collection procedure. In these cases, the request
will mirror what is expected to occur for the larger scale data
collection.
Likely Respondents: HRSA partners are typically state or local
governments, health care facilities, health care consortia, health care
providers, and researchers. HRSA partners may also include individuals
served by HRSA programs and/or funding recipients. Participation in any
collections under this clearance will be entirely voluntary, and the
privacy of respondents will be preserved to the extent requested by
participants and as permitted by law.
Respondents will be recruited by means of advertisements in public
venues or through techniques that replicate prospective data collection
activities that are the focus of the project. For instance, a survey on
physician communication, designed to be administered following an
office visit, might be pretested using the same procedure. Each ICR
will specify the recruitment procedure to be used.
Burden Statement: Burden in this context means the time expended by
persons to generate, maintain, retain, disclose, or provide the
information requested. This includes the time needed to review
instructions; to develop, acquire, install, and utilize technology and
systems for the purpose of collecting, validating, and verifying
information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and
providing information; to train personnel and to be able to respond to
a collection of information; to search data sources; to complete and
review the collection of information; and to transmit or otherwise
disclose the information. The total annual burden hours estimated for
this ICR are summarized in the table below.
Total Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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Number of Average burden Total
Type of information collection Number of responses per Total per response burden
respondents respondent responses (in hours) hours
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Cognitive Interviews/Usability Testing. 300 1 300 1.0 300
Focus Groups........................... 1,200 1 1,200 1.5 1,800
[[Page 60138]]
Surveys................................ 1,700 1 1,700 0.6 1,020
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Total.............................. 3,200 .............. 3,200 ............... 3,120
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Maria G. Button,
Director, Executive Secretariat.
[FR Doc. 2026-19362 Filed 9-21-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P
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