Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection: Comment Request

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration

Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection:

Comment Request

In compliance with the requirement for opportunity for public

comment on proposed data collection projects (section 3506(c)(2)(A) of

Title 44, United States Code, as amended by the Paperwork Reduction Act

of 1995, Pub. L. 104-13), the Health Resources and Services

Administration (HRSA) will publish periodic summaries of proposed

projects being developed for submission to OMB under the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995. To request more information on the proposed

project or to obtain a copy of the data collection plans and draft

instruments, call the HRSA Reports Clearance Officer on (301) 443-1891.

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of

information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of

the agency, including whether the information shall have practical

utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the

proposed collection 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 on respondents,

including through the use of automated collection techniques or other

forms of information technology.

Proposed Project: Development and Testing of Emergency Department

Utilization as a Measure of Effectiveness for the Health Care for

the Homeless Program (NEW)

The Health Resources and Services Administration's Bureau of

Primary Health Care (BPHC) seeks clearance from OMB to conduct a

performance evaluation of the Health Care for the Homeless Program

(HCH). A primary goal of this program is to provide a ``medical home''

for homeless persons in the community, improving their access to

primary care. The evaluation will test the hypothesis that the presence

of an HCH program in a community reduces the inappropriate (i.e., non-

urgent) use of emergency departments (ED) by single homeless adults.

The results from this evaluation will provide BPHC with evidence of the

HCH program's ability to divert inappropriate use of emergency

departments by homeless individuals.

The study will compare the ED experience of HCH program users and

non-HCH program users while considering three categories of influencing

factors: (1) Predisposing factors (demographics), (2) enabling factors

(insurance status and community characteristics), and (3) needs factors

(physical and mental health status, presence of drug or alcohol

problems). The analysis requires primary data collection through

interviews of homeless individuals in communities where there are HCH

grantees. The data collection instrument for this evaluation is a brief

(20 minute) questionnaire that will measure self-reported health care

utilization during the study period, health status and perceived health

care needs, and demographics. Information from the study will be used

in conjunction with data from ED records of homeless individuals with

self-reported ED use during the study period to determine whether a

particular ED visit should be considered ``urgent'' or ``non-urgent''.

One thousand three hundred and fifty respondents are expected to be

surveyed once. It is expected to take 20 minutes to complete each

survey for a total of 450 burden hours.

Send comments to Lyman Van Nostrand, HRSA Reports Clearance

Officer, Room 14-33, Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville,

Maryland 20857. Written comments should be received within 60 days of

this notice.

Dated: April 22, 1998.

Jane Harrison,

Acting Director, Division of Policy Review and Coordination.

[FR Doc. 98-11344 Filed 4-28-98; 8:45 am]

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