Attachment B1_Interview Protocol for HRSA Project Officers

Interview Protocols for MH Portfolio Project Officers OMB Number 0906-0059, Expiration Date XX/XX/202X

Maternal Health Portfolio Evaluation Interview Protocol for HRSA Project Officers

Public Burden Statement: This information is collected as part of a portfolio-wide evaluation of Maternal Health (MH) programs funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration. The evaluation will help the HRSA Maternal and Child Health Bureau identify individual and/or collective strategies, interrelated activities, and common themes within and across the MH programs that may be contributing to or driving improvements in key maternal health outcomes. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control number for this information collection is 0906-0059 and it is valid until XX/XX/202X. This information collection is voluntary. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1.5 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer, 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 14N39, Rockville, Maryland, 20857 or paperwork@hrsa.gov.

Introductory Script and Informed Consent (Verbal)

Good morning/afternoon. My name is [NAME] and I am a [TITLE] at [ORGANIZATION]. As you know, we have been contracted by Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to evaluate their Maternal Health Portfolio Project. We are interested in speaking with you today to learn more about the Maternal Health grant programs you work with and your experience managing awardees as their Project Officer.

The overall purpose of the Maternal Health Portfolio evaluation is to assess the effectiveness of awardees’ activities, barriers and facilitators to implementation, opportunities for scaling and spreading effective program interventions, whether the programs address health equity, and the overall impact of the portfolio on maternal health outcomes. The interview questions will focus on activities that are being implemented, barriers and facilitators to implementation, health equity approaches, scaling and spreading activities, lessons learned, and preliminary findings from the program evaluation.

Our discussion today will last up to 90 minutes. Information from this interview will be included in documents associated with the Maternal Health Portfolio evaluation, including interim and final reports, special topic papers, and presentations. While we will not use your name or any others in these reports, it may be possible to identify you through your position or through other details that you share in this interview.

If you have questions about the study, please contact the Maternal Health Data Lead, Dianna Frick, dfrick@hrsa.gov.

Do you agree to participate in this interview?

If "Yes" then proceed.

If No: Thank you for your time. [Stop the interview].

My colleague [NAME] is also on the phone and will take notes during our conversation. We will also create an audio recording of the interview. We will use the recording to create a transcript to inform our report. The transcript will not include your name or contact information. We will delete the recording at the end of the project.

Do you agree to have this interview recorded?

If respondent says "yes" then proceed. BEGIN RECORDING.

If "no" then say: "That's fine. You may still participate in the interview. Please be patient as I take notes." DO NOT BEGIN RECORDING.

Interview Protocol (ALL YEARS)

During this interview we will discuss each of the awardees that you oversee. I will ask you a series of questions about one awardee at a time, including your assessment of the implementation of their program activities.

Section 1: Activities

**Interviewer Note: If interviewee discusses the effectiveness of awardee activities, probe for how they are defining effectiveness.

Let’s start with [AWARDEE NAME]:

1. What progress has [AWARDEE NAME] made on implementing their program?

   1. [Probe about each activity, if needed]

2. What facilitators, if any, do you think [AWARDEE NAME] has experienced while implementing their program?

   1. [Probe about each activity, if needed]

3. What barriers do you think [AWARDEE NAME] has experienced while implementing their program?

   1. [Probe about each activity, if needed]

4. Out of all of the activities that [AWARDEE NAME] is implementing, which do you feel are the most innovative? Why? Prompt if respondent is unsure: method or approach; target population; geographic location; implementation setting; targeted health outcome.

5. Out of all of the activities that [AWARDEE NAME] is implementing, which do you feel are the best candidates to be scaled up and implemented at the [REGIONAL/STATE/NATIONAL LEVEL]?

   1. Please describe why or why not.

   2. Do you anticipate any challenges in doing so?

6. Out of all of the activities that [AWARDEE NAME] is implementing, which do you feel can be implemented in other contexts, such as locations, with fewer partner organizations, few or no maternal mortality policies or workgroups, etc.?

   1. Please describe why or why not.

   2. Do you anticipate any challenges in doing so?

Section 2: Health Equity

7. Thinking about how [AWARDEE NAME] is addressing health equity, which of their activities do you think is the most effective in improving health equity for the target population(s)?

Prompt if respondent is unsure: addressing bias among health care providers; reducing barriers to accessing care among target populations; quality improvement initiatives to improve quality of care for target populations.

8. To the best of your knowledge, do you think these activities will have the potential to be or have been effective at improving health equity for the target population(s)? If so, how?

   1. What does it mean to you to have an activity that is effective at improving health equity (e.g., how are you defining “effectiveness”)?

9. Tell me about any challenges with addressing health equity among the awardee?

Section 3: Project Officer Insights into Evaluation

10. How would you describe [AWARDEE NAME]’s experience implementing their program and the challenges they have encountered with evaluation?

    1. Has [AWARDEE NAME] experienced challenges with evaluating their program (e.g., design, data collection, analysis, and reporting)?

Section 4: Wrap-up

11. Before we wrap up, is there any other information you would like to share about your experience with your awardees?

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