Supporting Statement

HRSA Information Center Live Help Online

User Satisfaction Survey

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) currently has approval under the generic clearance, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) No. 0915-0212, to conduct customer satisfaction surveys. These surveys help fulfill the requirements of:

1. Executive Order 12862, “Setting Customer Service Standards,” which directs Agencies to continually reform their management practices and operations to provide service to the public that matches or exceeds the best service available in the private sector.

2. The March 3, 1998, White House Memorandum, “Conducting Conversations with America to Further Improve Customer Service,” which further directs Agencies to determine the kind and quality of service its customers want and their level of satisfaction with existing services.

The HRSA Office of Communications (OC), which oversees the HRSA Information Center (IC) is requesting OMB approval to conduct a user satisfaction survey under the HRSA generic clearance. The objective of the survey is to determine overall satisfaction with the IC’s new Live Help online service and collect feedback to improve users’ Live Help experience.

The HRSA IC Web site is a centralized portal for users to search for, download, and order publications and materials from HRSA bureaus, programs, and grantees. A searchable database of relevant resource organizations is also accessible on the site, as well as links to highlighted HRSA programs and services, such as Find-A-Health-Center, Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation, Stop Bullying Now!, and the Lower Extremity Amputation Prevention Program. HRSA news releases are featured on the home page, and users can read and subscribe to the HRSA Information Listserv and RSS feed.

Live Help online was recently added to the HRSA IC Web site to enhance visitors’ experience and provide instant support and expertise at the point of service, without the need to pause browsing to call or e-mail the IC.

Customer Service To Be Assessed:

The HRSA IC provides support to Web site users through Live Help online, accessible from the home page (http://www.ask.hrsa.gov/) and all deeper pages. Information about the Live Help service can be found on the site at http://ask.hrsa.gov/livehelp.cfm. Senior HRSA IC staff are available to receive and respond to Live Help chat requests from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. eastern time. During non-business hours, clicking on the Live Help icon allows Web site visitors to e-mail their request to the HRSA IC; they will receive a response during normal business hours.

HRSA IC staff developed an extensive library of responses based on requests commonly received. Common requests received through the Live Help service are requests for low- or no-cost health care, questions about Health Professional Shortage Areas, and requests to order more than the allowed quantity of an item online.

The survey results will be used to determine the extent of users’ satisfaction with the Live Help service and to identify ways in which the service may be improved. The main purpose of the survey is to obtain information about overall satisfaction with the service, ease of use of the Live Help structure, and ease of understanding of the responses and to identify any technical problems with the system.

A customer survey has not been conducted to assess users’ satisfaction with the Live Help service; these data will provide new information that will help improve the provision of online support, response, and resources to HRSA audiences including medically underserved populations, health care professionals, health professions students, and community health representatives in the United States.

Data Collection:

The survey instrument is a brief, self-administered, Web-based questionnaire, consisting of five questions total. Two of the questions provide check-box responses; three of the questions are open-ended to encourage respondents to provide comment. The survey will remain open for respondents for a period of 1 year.

Methods To Maximize Response Rate:

1. The survey is brief and easy to understand.

2. The survey should take less than 10 minutes to complete.

3. The link to the survey will be e-mailed to users upon request, and the Web-based format is secure and confidential.

The potential universe for the customer satisfaction survey consists of people who have completed a Live Help session with the HRSA IC and have submitted their e-mail address to request a feedback survey. The customer survey will be available through a secure link, managed by Circle Solutions, Inc., the contractor which operates the HRSA IC. Response rates are estimated to be approximately 10%, based on previously approved customer satisfaction surveys on HRSA’s website.

Questionnaire Instrument:

The customer satisfaction survey instrument consists of five questions:

1. Are you satisfied with the assistance you received from the HRSA Information Center Live Help?

• Yes

• No
  
  

2. Please share any comments about your experience. (text box)
   
   

3. Are there any resources that we can provide to make future conversations more effective? (text box)
   
   

4. Did you experience any technical problems with your connection to Live Help?

• Yes

• No

5. If so, please explain. (text box)

The survey also provides users a link to the HRSA IC “Contact Us” page, where they can find the HRSA IC e-mail address and phone number, should they need to follow up with an information specialist about a pending issue, such as approval of a bulk order of publications.

The information to be collected is unique to the HRSA IC Live Help service; there is no other source for this information. No other entities associated with the HRSA IC will be collecting information about this service.

The survey instruments were developed by the HRSA IC with input and approval from HRSA OC staff. The survey was designed to keep the satisfaction responses short and simple. The survey instruments have been reviewed for literacy level to ensure they are easily understood.

Names and other identifying information are not collected. No attempt will be made to identify respondents by name after the surveys have been taken. At no time will the HRSA IC receive any personal identifying information about respondents, unless voluntarily provided.

There are no plans to publish the results of the survey. Data analysis will be done monthly and will consist of examining the collected responses to identify problem areas needing to be resolved. Narrative comments will be compiled.

Contact Information:

The contact for the survey is Jennifer Walters, Associate Project Director, HRSA IC at Circle Solutions, Inc., 703–902–1228 or jwalters@circlesolutions.com.

The contact for this application is Joni Johns, Webmaster, HRSA OC, 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 14–15, Rockville, MD 20857, 301–443–2088 or jjohns@hrsa.gov.

Attachments:

HRSA IC Live Help Feedback Survey

HRSA IC Form E-mail with Link to Live Help Feedback Survey

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