[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 238 (Tuesday, December 12, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74536-74537]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-9642]


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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, Department of 
Health and Human Services.

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) allow the proposed information collection 
project: ``Pilot Study of Proposed Nursing Home Survey on Resident 
Safety''. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), AHRQ invites the public to 
comment on this proposed information collection.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by February 12, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted to: Doris Lefkowitz, 
Reports Clearance Officer, AHRQ, 540 Gaither Road, Room <greek-i>5036, 
Rockville, MD 20850.
    Copies of the proposed collection plans, data collection 
instruments, and specific details on the estimated burden can be 
obtained from AHRQ's Reports Clearance Officer.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Doris Lefkowitz, AHRQ, Reports 
Clearance Officer, (301) 427-1477.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Proposed Project

``Pilot Study of Proposed Nursing Home Survey on Resident Safety''

    This activity is an expansion and refinement of AHRQ's Hospital 
Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC) which was developed and 
released to the public for use in November 2004. This proposed new tool 
is based on the HSOPSC but also contains new and revised items as well 
as dimensions that more accurately apply to the nursing home setting. 
The instrument will be pilot tested with staff in 40 nursing homes. The 
data collected will be analyzed to determine the psychometric 
properties of the survey's items and dimensions and provide information 
for the revision and shortening of the final survey based on an 
assessment of its reliability and construct validity. The final survey 
will be made publicly available to enable nursing homes to assess their 
resident safety culture.

Methods of Collection

    A purposive sample of 40 nursing homes will be recruited and 
selected. These nursing homes will represent a distrubition of bed 
size, nature of ownership (non-profit/for-profit), urbanity (urban/
rural), and geographic region of the United States. Recruited nursing 
homes will be allocated to each category in numbers roughly 
proportionate to the national distribution of homes in each category.
    All employees, contractors and agency staff in all job classes in 
nursing homes with up to 200 employees will be asked to respond to the 
survey. In nursing homes with more than 200 employees, a random sample 
of 200 employees will be selected. Since not all nursing homes staff 
have access to or are familiar with e-mail or the internet, paper 
surveys will be administered. Standard non-response follow-up 
techniques such as reminder postcards and distrubiton of a second 
survey will be used. Individuals and organizations contacted will be 
assured of the confidentiality of their replies under Section 924(c) of 
the Healthcare Research and Quality Act of 1999.

Estimated Annual Respondent Burden

    The survey will be distributed to approximately 5,500 nursing home 
employees, with a target response rate of 70%, or 3,850 returned 
surveys. Respondents should take approximately 15 minutes to complete 
the survey. Therefore, we estimate that the respondent burden for 
completing the survey will be 963 hours (3,850 completes multiplied by 
0.25 hours per completed survey).

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                                                                  Number of      Estimated Time  Estimated Total
             Type of Respondent                  Number of      Responses per    per Respondent     Respondent
                                                Respondents       Respondent        (hours)        Burden Hours
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Nursing home staff member...................           3,850                1             0.25              963
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[[Page 74537]]

Estimated Annual Costs to the Federal Government

    The total cost to the Government for developing this survey is 
approximately $319,000, and is being funded solely by AHRQ. This 
estimate includes the costs of a background literature review, survey 
development, cognitive testing, pilot data collection, data analysis, 
and preparation of final deliverables and reports.

Request for Comments

    In accordance with the above-cited Paperwork Reduction Act 
legislation, 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 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 1, 2006.
Carolyn M. Clancy,
Director.
[FR Doc. 06-9642 Filed 12-11-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160[dash]90[dash]M