[Federal Register: October 16, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 199)]
[Notices]
[Page 60711-60712]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr16oc06-39]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Request for Measures of Consumers' Assessment of Cultural
Competency
AGENCY: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), DHHS.
ACTION: Notice of request for measures.
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SUMMARY: The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is
soliciting the submission of instruments or items that measure patient
perspectives on the cultural awareness of the healthcare professionals
providing care to those patients. This initiative is in response to the
need to develop a new CAHPS[supreg] cultural competency survey. AHRQ is
interested in incorporating this survey into an integrated set of
carefully tested, standardized survey questionnaires and accompanying
reports. The addition of the CAHPS[supreg] cultural competency
component to the set is intended to empower consumers with quality of
care information while also encouraging healthcare professionals to
provide culturally competent care. The survey will be designed to
assess the quality of care and services provided by healthcare
professional in the context of cultural competency.
Based on prior work, there are several functional areas that the
planned instrument could assess such as: (1) Patient-provider
communication (e.g., providers give clear explanations, patients feel
that they get all the information they need,), (2) respect for patient
preferences/shared decision-making (e.g., providers discuss pros and
cons of treatment options, providers understand and takes into account
patient's environment, family members are appropriately included in
decisions), (3) experiences leading to trust or distrust (e.g.,
providers treat patients in a culturally sensitive or insensitive
manner that led to trust or distrust), (4) experiences of
discrimination (e.g., providers or staff treat patients with disrespect
because of a patients' racial/ethnic backgrounds, insurance type/
status, lack of proficiency in English), (5) language access (e.g.,
availability of interpreter services and translated materials), and (6)
alternative treatment (e.g., providers are open to discussion about
traditional healers and remedies).
DATES: Please submit instruments or individual items and supporting
information on or before November 15, 2006. AHRQ will not respond
individually to submitters, but will consider all submitted instruments
and publicly report the results of the review of the submissions in
aggregate.
ADDRESSES: Submissions should include a brief cover letter, copy of the
instrument or items for consideration and supporting information as
specified under the Submission Criteria below. Submissions may be in
the form of a letter or e-mail, preferably with an electronic file as
an e-mail attachment. Responses to this request should be submitted to:
Anna Caponiti, Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety,
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 540 Gaither Road,
Rockville, MD 20850, Phone: (301) 427-1402, Fax: (301) 427-1341, E-
mail: anna.caponiti@ahrq.hhs.gov.
To facilitate handling of submissions, please include full
information about the instrument developer or contact: (a) Name, (b)
title, (c) organization, (d) mailing address, (e) telephone number, (f)
fax number, and (g) e-mail address. Also please submit a copy of the
instrument or items for consideration along with evidence that they
meet the criteria below. It would be appreciated if each citation of a
peer-reviewed journal article pertaining to the instrument includes the
title of the article, author(s), publication year, journal name,
volume, issue, and page numbers where article appears, but all of these
details are not required. Submitters must also provide a statement of
willingness to grant to AHRQ the right to use and authorize others to
use submitted measures and their documentation as part of a
CCAHPS[supreg]-trademarked instrument. This CAHPS[supreg] instrument
for patients' perspectives on cultural competency of healthcare
professionals provision of care will be made publicly available, free
of charge. Electronic submissions are encouraged.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anna Caponiti, at the address above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background Information
The CAHPS[supreg] program was initiated in 1995 to develop a survey
and report on consumers' perspectives on the quality of their health
plans. Since that time, the CAHPS[supreg] program, in partnership with
the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and others, has
expanded its scope and developed
[[Page 60712]]
consumer surveys and reports regarding consumer perspectives on
individual clinicians, group practices, in-center hemodialysis
services, nursing homes and hospitals. AHRQ determined that the
CAHPS[supreg] team should develop a survey to obtain consumer
perspectives on cultural awareness of healthcare professionals.
The vision of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality is to
foster health care research that helps the American health care system
provide access to high-quality, cost-effective services; be accountable
and responsive to consumers and purchasers; and improve health status
and quality of life. The CAHPS[supreg] program was developed as a
result of AHRQ's vision. One of the components missing from the current
measurement set is an assessment of patients' perspective on cultural
awareness of healthcare professionals.
Submission Criteria
Instruments submitted should focus on patient perspectives on the
quality of care and services provided by healthcare professionals in
the context of cultural awareness demonstrated by those healthcare
professionals.
AHRQ is interested in measures that: (a) Capture patients'
experiences of quality of received health care in the context of
healthcare professionals' cultural awareness and (b) demonstrate a high
degree of reliability and validity. Accordingly, each submission should
include, in addition to the name of the pertinent instrument, domains
included, and the language(s) the instrument is available in, the
following information: Evidence of cultural/cross group comparability,
if any; instrument reliability (internal consistency, test-retest,
etc.); validity (content, construct, criterion-related); response
rates; methods and results of cognitive testing and field-testing as
well as descriptions of sampling strategies (including payer type) and
data collection protocols, including such elements as mode of
administration, use of advance letters, timing and frequencies of
contacts. Evidence addressing these criteria should be demonstrated
through submission of peer-reviewed journal article(s) or through the
best evidence available at the time of submission.
In addition, a list of where the instrument has been fielded should
also be included in the submission. Submission of copies of existing
report formats developed to disclose findings to consumers and
providers is desirable, but not required. Additionally, information
about existing database(s) for the instrument(s) submitted is helpful,
but not required for submission.
Submitters' willingness to grant to AHRQ the right to use and
authorize others to use their instrument or item and accompanying
explanatory material means that the CAHPS[supreg] trademark will be
applied to a new instrument which will combine the best features of the
submissions as well as any ideas that may develop from reviewing them.
It also ensures free access to this instrument and the instrument's
supportive/administrative information. AHRQ, in collaboration with
CAHPS grantees, will evaluate all submitted instruments or items. As
the CAHPS instrument is constructed, one or more items may be selected
for use, either in whole or in part, or modified, prior to testing
them. AHRQ will assume responsibility for the final instruments as well
as any future modifications.
The final instrument will bear the CAHPS[supreg] trademark and it
will be made available without charge for use by all interested
parties. Submitters will have relinquished ownership of any items that
appear in the final instrument. However, item ownership will be
protected during testing of the survey. As a matter of quality control,
there will be warnings that the CAHPS[supreg] trademark or
identification may not be used if any changes are made to the
instrument or final measure set without review and permission of the
Agency.
Dated: October 5, 2006.
Carolyn M. Clancy,
Director.
[FR Doc. 06-8674 Filed 10-13-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-90-M