Form 1 NIH NIST QAP feedback survey

NIH/NIST Health Assessment Measurements Quality Assurance Program (HAMQAP)
Participant Feedback Survey
Thank you for agreeing to participate in NIST’s HAMQAP feedback survey. Your feedback is important
and will provide NIST and the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements (co-funders of HAMQAP) with
information that will help improve future QAP exercises. Your candid responses are appreciated - all
responses are anonymous. Responses will be summarized and presented in a report to HAMQAP
directors; no one response will be attributed to any one person. This survey should take you no more
than 20 minutes to complete. Contact Adam Kuszak at adam.kuszak@nih.gov or (301) 496-1795 with
any questions or concerns.

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NIH/NIST Health Assessment Measurements Quality Assurance Program (HAMQAP)
Participant Feedback Survey
Participant characterization
1. How do you classify your company or organization?
Academic or research facility
Consumer product manufacturer
Instrument or test kit manufacturer
Third-party testing laboratory or contract research organization
Government agency
Other (please specify)

2. What is your role in your organization/company?
Senior manager (executive level)
Laboratory or quality manager
Bench scientist/analyst
Administrator
Other (please specify)

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3. Please describe the role/position of the person(s) choosing studies for your laboratory’s participation in NIST
QAPs. Select all that apply.
Senior manager (executive level)
Laboratory or quality manager
Bench scientist/analyst
Administrator
Other (please specify)

4. In what country is the laboratory located where your organization has received HAMQAP samples?

5. Which of the following analyte groups or measurement categories are of interest to your laboratory? Select
all that apply.
Nutritional elements (e.g., Ca, Na, K)
Toxic elements (e.g., As, Cd, Hg, Pb)
Water-soluble vitamins (e.g., vitamins B and C)
Fat-soluble vitamins (e.g., vitamins A, D, E, and K)
Fatty acids (e.g., DHA, EPA)
Botanical marker compounds (e.g., gingerols, catechins, phenolic compounds)
Contaminants (e.g., pesticides, mycotoxins)
Proximates (e.g., fat, protein, carbohydrate)
Authenticity and/or identity assessment (e.g., plant species identification)
Other (please specify)

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6. What types of samples are routinely analyzed by your laboratory? Select all that apply.
Non-botanical dietary supplements
Botanical dietary supplements
Foods (fortified or non-fortified)
Other natural products
Blood
Serum/plasma
Urine
Human milk
Other (please specify)

7. What analytical approaches does your laboratory utilize for quality control and quality assurance? Select all
that apply.
Use of in-house prepared reference standards (pure compounds for calibration)
Use of commercial reference standards (pure compounds for calibration)
Use of in-house prepared calibration solutions
Use of commercial calibration solutions
Use of in-house matrix reference materials or QC materials
Use of commercial matrix reference materials or QC materials
Use of Certified Reference Materials (CRMs)

8. How do you distinguish between quality assurance and proficiency testing?

9. How do you use quality assurance or proficiency testing in your organization?

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10. Has your laboratory participated in proficiency testing or quality assurance programs other than NISTcoordinated programs for measurements of dietary constituents or contaminants?
Yes
No
If yes, please specify

11. Is participation in quality assurance exercises (in general) something that you find to be valuable to your
work?
Yes
No
Please explain

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NIH/NIST Health Assessment Measurements Quality Assurance Program (HAMQAP)
Participant Feedback Survey
Participant experience with the NIST QAPs
12. Currently, HAMQAP is designed to offer studies for both dietary intake and human metabolism matrices.
Would your laboratory like to see the program split into separate, more focused programs?
Yes
No
No opinion

13. How many HAMQAP exercises have you participated in?
More than one
Only one (skip to Question #15)

14. If you have participated in more than one HAMQAP exercise, please tell us more about your different
experiences. For example: What was the reason for participating in multiple exercises and how would you
compare them? What was the best part of each exercise for you/your laboratory? [IF YOU ONLY
PARTICIPATED IN ONE EXERCISE GO TO THE NEXT QUESTION]

15. Would you participate in another HAMQAP? Why or why not?

16. To the best of your knowledge, in which of the following NIST HAMQAP exercises has your laboratory
participated? Select all that apply.
HAMQAP Exercise 1 (Fall 2017)
HAMQAP Exercise 2 (Spring 2018)
HAMQAP Exercise 3 (Fall 2018)
HAMQAP Exercise 4 (Spring 2019)
HAMQAP Exercise 5 (Fall 2019)
HAMQAP Exercise 6 (Spring 2020)
HAMQAP Exercise 7 (Spring 2021)

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17. Prior to participating in HAMQAP, did your laboratory participate in any of the following past NISTcoordinated Quality Assurance Programs? Select all that apply.
Micronutrient Measurements Quality Assurance Program (MMQAP)
Dietary Supplements Laboratory Quality Assurance Program (DSQAP)
Vitamin D Metabolites Quality Assurance Program (VitDQAP)
Fatty Acids in Human Serum Quality Assurance Program (FAQAP)
No participation prior to HAMQAP

18. How does your laboratory find out about upcoming HAMQAPs? Select all that apply.
Emails from NIST
Information on the HAMQAP website
Word-of-mouth information from colleagues who have participated previously
Information shared at a professional conference
Other (please specify)

19. Would any of the following discourage you from participating in a future HAMQAP exercise? Select all that
apply.
Date of the exercise
Length of the exercise
NIST participation requirements
Amount or type of communications
Cancellation of prior HAMQAP exercises
Past experience with HAMQAP exercises
Other
Please explain

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20. In each HAMQAP exercise a percentage of laboratories receive samples but do not return results. Why
might your laboratory be unable to report results for samples requested? Select all that apply.
Atypical analyte (e.g., non-interest in a certain folate vitamer or fatty acid form)
Atypical matrix (e.g., non-interest in botanical extracts or clinical samples)
Limited resources (time, staff, equipment)
Difficult sample preparation
Instrumentation difficulty
Poor control results
High measurement variability
Analyte not detected
Not applicable - our lab always returns results for all requested matrices/analytes
Other (please specify)

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NIH/NIST Health Assessment Measurements Quality Assurance Program (HAMQAP)
Participant Feedback Survey
Participant experience with the NIST QAPs
Please provide feedback on the HAMQAP emails you have received:
21. Are HAMQAP emails clearly written and easily understood?
Yes
No
I never received HAMQAP emails

22. Do HAMQAP emails provide valuable information for your laboratory?
Yes
No
I never received HAMQAP emails

23. HAMQAP emails are sent:
Too often
Not often enough
I am happy with the frequency of emails
I never received HAMQAP emails

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NIH/NIST Health Assessment Measurements Quality Assurance Program (HAMQAP)
Participant Feedback Survey
Participant experience with the NIST QAPs
Please provide feedback on the HAMQAP website:
24. Is it easy to sign up for a HAMQAP exercise?
Yes
No
I never used the HAMQAP website

25. Is it easy to access the HAMQAP exercise data from the HAMQAP website?
Yes
No
I never used the HAMQAP website

26. Is it easy to report your data to NIST through the HAMQAP website?
Yes
No
I never used the HAMQAP website

27. Is there anything else that you would like to see included on the website?

28. Are there any suggestions that you have for changing the way that information is presented on the site?

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NIH/NIST Health Assessment Measurements Quality Assurance Program (HAMQAP)
Participant Feedback Survey
Participant experience with the NIST QAPs
NIST provides final exercise reports that include results for your laboratory, results aggregated for all
participating laboratories, and a certificate of completion. Please provide feedback on the HAMQAP
final exercise reports that you have received:
29. Are the HAMQAP final exercise reports clearly written and easily understood?
Yes
No
I never received HAMQAP exercise reports

30. Do HAMQAP final exercise reports provide valuable information for your laboratory?
Yes
No
I never received HAMQAP exercise reports

31. How do you use the information provided in the final exercise reports?

32. Would it be valuable to receive preliminary reports with your data and a participation certificate earlier in
the process?
Yes
No
Please explain

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NIH/NIST Health Assessment Measurements Quality Assurance Program (HAMQAP)
Participant Feedback Survey
Participant needs and expectations
33. What benefits does participation in HAMQAP offer your laboratory? Select all that apply.
Fulfills accreditation requirement
Development/validation of new methods
Evaluation of existing methods, samples, or analysts
Understanding matrix/analyte challenges
Acquisition of NIST control materials
Demonstration of laboratory proficiency to customers
Other (please specify)

34. Which of the potential benefits of HAMQAP participation that you selected in Question #33 above are the
strongest reasons for your participation? Select only two benefits.
Fulfills accreditation requirement
Development/validation of new methods
Evaluation of existing methods, samples, or analysts
Understanding matrix/analyte challenges
Acquisition of NIST control materials
Demonstration of laboratory proficiency to customers
Other (please specify)

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35. Is your laboratory likely to participate in a HAMQAP study if it does not already have an established
method for the analytes?
Yes
No

36. Do you have analytical needs that are currently underserved or unmet? These needs do not have to be tied
directly to HAMQAP but can include more general needs or challenges facing the laboratory. Select all that
apply.
Pure reference standards (e.g., calibration solutions)
Matrix reference materials (e.g., novel matrices)
Method development/assessment (e.g., comparison of different methods)
Method guidance/education (e.g., extent of information in QAP report technical recommendations)
Variety of QAP study designs (e.g., need for unique analytes)
Performance testing (e.g., demonstration of measurement correctness against certified values)
Other (please specify)

None of the above

37. For all of the analytical needs selected in Q36, please describe your organization’s specific needs in the
space provided after each analytical need below.
Pure reference standards:
Matrix reference materials:
Method
development/assessment:
Method
guidance/education:
Variety of QAP study
designs:
Performance testing:
Other:

38. On a scale from 1 to 10 (where 1 is the lowest ranking and 10 the highest), how valuable is participation in
quality assurance exercises (in general) to your work?
1

10

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39. On a scale from 1 to 10 (where 1 is the lowest ranking and 10 the highest), how well have NIST’s
HAMQAP exercises met your laboratory’s needs?
1

10

40. On a scale from 1 to 10 (where 1 is the lowest ranking and 10 the highest), how likely are you to
encourage others to participate in a HAMQAP exercise?
1

10

41. On a scale from 1 to 10 (where 1 is the lowest ranking and 10 the highest), how likely are you to
participate in another HAMQAP exercise?
1

10

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NIH/NIST Health Assessment Measurements Quality Assurance Program (HAMQAP)
Participant Feedback Survey
Participant needs and expectations
Each HAMQAP exercise involves distinct and time-limited program phases. Please consider each
exercise phase listed below and the adequacy of the time allotted to it.
42. How adequate is the timing for the call for participants (typically 4 weeks)?
Substantially more time needed
More time needed
Current time is adequate
Less time needed
Substantially less time needed

43. How adequate is the timing for the sample distribution (typically 10-12 weeks)?
Substantially more time needed
More time needed
Current time is adequate
Less time needed
Substantially less time needed

44. How adequate is the timing for analysis (typically 6-weeks)?
Substantially more time needed
More time needed
Current time is adequate
Less time needed
Substantially less time needed

45. How adequate is the timing for the preliminary results (typically 4-6 weeks)?
Substantially more time needed
More time needed
Current time is adequate
Less time needed
Substantially less time needed

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46. How adequate is the timing for the final report (typically 6 months)?
Substantially more time needed
More time needed
Current time is adequate
Less time needed
Substantially less time needed

47. If you were involved in the planning of the HAMQAP, how would you change the current structure or the
content focus?

48. HAMQAP participation is currently free of charge, only requiring shipping costs for material distribution.
Would your organization still participate if a nominal fee were charged?
Yes
No

49. How much would your organization be willing to pay for participation in a HAMQAP exercise?
Up to $100
$101 - $250
$251 - $500
$501 - $750
$751 - $1000
$1001 - $1500
Don’t know

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NIH/NIST Health Assessment Measurements Quality Assurance Program (HAMQAP)
Participant Feedback Survey
Thank you for completing our survey. Your feedback will help us improve the HAMQAP
exercises.

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