suppt st B

Understanding How Families Access and Use Long-Term Care Services

ASPE Generic Information Collection Request

OMB No. 0990-0421

Supporting Statement – Section B

Submitted: June 16, 2015

Program Official/Project Officer

Helen Lamont, Ph.D. - Social Science Analyst

Samuel Shipley – Social Science Analyst

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation

200 Independence Avenue SW, Washington DC 20201

(202) 690-6443

Helen.Lamont@hhs.gov

Samuel.Shipley@hhs.gov

Section B – Data Collection Procedures

1. Respondent Universe and Sampling Methods

The focus groups will be conducted online through an interface maintained by GfK. Participants will include members of the KnowledgePanel® who have indicated that they have a family member who has used long-term care. GfK will solicit participation in the focus groups from among the population of people who have a family member who used long-term care. Participants will self-select to participate. We chose this mechanism in order to get broad geographic representation and to minimize the costs associated with holding a focus group. We anticipate no more than 10 (ten) participants in each of the four focus groups.

2. Procedures for the Collection of Information

The data collection will be conducted through four moderated online focus groups. The online focus groups will be structured with a session moderator posing open-ended questions to the participants, and participants will be invited to respond. Participants will also be asked to participate in instant polls that are relevant to the discussion. Participation in the focus groups (and subsequent information provided by participants) will be completely voluntary. No personal identifying information will be collected. The questions to be posed by the moderator have been developed and revised prior to the session (see Attachment A) by ASPE staff. The ASPE federal project officer is a subject matter expert and will serve as the moderator. Other ASPE staff will assist her by providing additional probing questions or asking for details on the information provided by the participants as needed. The data will be collected qualitatively from the transcript of the online focus groups. After the focus groups, ASPE staff will analyze the data qualitatively by reviewing the transcript and any notes, and identifying the main themes from the discussion. ASPE staff will note if particular issues (for example, challenges in finding information on home health aides) seemed to be raised more often, or of greater importance, to the focus group participants.

3. Methods to Maximize Response Rates Deal with Nonresponse

One week prior to the focus groups, GfK will contact members of the Knowledge Panel who meet the criteria for the focus groups and ask them to participate. Focus Group participants will be offered a small noncash incentive by GfK to complete the focus group. GfK uses a “points”-based incentive system to thank panel members for completing surveys and focus groups of any length. For these focus groups, each panelist will be provided 50,000 points, the monetary equivalent of $50. This honorarium is intended to recognize the time spent by participants in participating in this focus group, encourage their cooperation, and convey appreciation for contributing to this important study. Given that this will be a sample of convenience, we will not deal with nonresponse. The main themes (i.e. results) that emerge from the focus group will not be generalizable to the entire population and this will be acknowledged in any project materials.

4. Test of Procedures or Methods to be Undertaken

Over the past few months, ASPE staff engaged in preliminary exploration of the issues that will be discussed in the focus groups. The focus groups will build on knowledge of the field that was built by ASPE staff through research and one-on-one conversations with experts. The specific discussion questions to be used for the focus groups (Attachment A) have been piloted among a group of ASPE staff who have experience with a family member accessing long-term care. No issues were identified during that piloting.

5. Individuals Consulted on Statistical Aspects and Individuals Collecting and/or Analyzing Data

ASPE subject matter experts with statistical and technical expertise were consulted on the development of this exploratory data collection. This includes: (1) Helen Lamont, Social Science Analyst at HHS/ASPE, email: Helen.Lamont@hhs.gov, phone: 202-260-6443; and (2) William Marton, Director, Division of Disability and Aging at HHS/ASPE, email: william.marton@hhs.gov, phone: 202-690-6443.

LIST OF ATTACHMENTS – Section B

Note: Attachments are included as separate files as instructed.

1. Online Discussion Guide