The mission of NIMH is to transform
the understanding and treatment of mental illness through basic and
clinical research, paving the way for prevention, recovery, and
cure. In order for NIMH clinical research to meet it is objectives
(including sufficient power to test hypotheses and generalizability
to the appropriate target population) it is critical that studies
meet their recruitment goals. NIMH developed the Recruitment
Milestone Reporting (RMR) System to ensure NIMH investigators
develop realistic recruitment targets and that these targets are
met throughout the course of the clinical research. The RMR system
monitors the recruitment of participants in NIMH-sponsored clinical
research studies that plan to enroll 150 or more human subjects in
a single study. Clinical studies can have difficulty recruiting,
and accurate and timely reporting is the best way to ensure
recruitment goals are met within the expected timeframe.
Investigators develop a recruitment plan that includes tri-yearly
milestones for recruitment of the total study population, and for
recruitment of racial and ethnic minority participants. Once
recruitment is scheduled to begin, investigators report actual
progress on recruitment milestones three times per year, by April
1, August 1, and December 1. The primary use of this information is
to ensure that realistic recruitment targets are established from
the onset of a project, and that these targets are met throughout
the course of the research. NIMH program staff will use the
information collected by the Recruitment Milestone Reporting
application to evaluate the feasibility of the recruitment targets
and timeline, the appropriateness of the distribution of subjects
to the research question, and the acceptability of actual
recruitment progress.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.