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UPDATE: VETS' COMMISSION TRIES TO CALM FEARS
OVER SURVEY --
"I can personally ensure that every known step
has been taken to
safeguard all personally identifiable
information."
On Friday, December 1, I had a
conversation with Mr. Ray Wilburn, Executive Director of the Veterans'
Disability Benefits Commission (VDBC).
Mr. Wilburn expressed concern that I
would advise VA Watchdog readers NOT to participate in the current
survey being conducted by the VDBC. Background here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/nfDEC06/nf120106-1.htm
and here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/nfDEC06/nf120106-11.htm
After many minutes of intense
conversation, we agreed to disagree about the purpose of the survey and
about how secure the information provided by veterans might be.
Later, Mr. Wilburn sent me an email with
his personal assurances for veterans who take the survey. Attached
to the email was a document of explanation that was then posted on the
VDBC web site.
In his email, Mr. Wilburn stated: "I
understand your concerns but I honestly think the Commission needs the
results of the surveys to ensure that disability compensation and
survivors benefits are appropriate and that the level of the benefits
are appropriate. That is the Commission’s statutory charge. The
information on quality of life that is readily available is not
representative of all disabled veterans, only those that are enrolled
for VA health care. And information on survivors is not available at
all.
I can personally ensure that every known step has been taken to
safeguard all personally identifiable information. The Commission will
not receive any personally identifiable information, only aggregated
results."
VDBC document of explanation here...
https://www.1888932-2946.ws/vetscommission/
e-documentmanager/gallery/Documents/November_2006/InfoonSurveyParticipation.pdf
Document below:
---------------
IF YOU HAVE BEEN CONTACTED TO
PARTICIPATE IN THE COMMISSION’S SURVEY OF DISABLED VETERANS OR SURVIVORS:
-
Thank you for taking the time to check
our website and to learn more about the survey.
-
Your participation in this telephone
survey is strictly voluntary AND extremely
important since you will represent all service-disabled
veterans and survivors.
Primary Purpose for Conducting This
Survey
-
The Commission believes that
service-connected disability compensation and survivor’s benefits
should provide for the impact of disabilities and death attributable
to military service on lives and not be limited to addressing “average
loss of income.”
-
This survey will help the Commission
assess, quantify and factually describe in its report to the President
and Congress how service-connected disabilities and deaths are
affecting quality of life. The information currently available is not
statistically representative of all service-disabled veterans and
survivors.
Survey Design
- How will the
survey be conducted?
The protocol for this research project was designed to be conducted as
a telephone interview in real time.
- Will the
questions be available in advance?
As part of the survey design, NO questions will be posted on
our website or given to respondents in advance. (Research has shown
that this type of advance posting has a high potential to prejudice
the outcome.)
- What to
expect from the questions you will be asked.
There are two questionnaires that the Veterans Health Administration
(VHA) has used over a number of years to seek information from VA
patients about their health, treatment and the affects of health
on quality of life and the daily functions of living.
- These
questionnaires are well-tested and widely accepted in academia and
the health care industry as statistically reliable. Over time,
these questionnaires have proven useful in improving the delivery of
health care to our Nation’s veterans, and are now in use in private
industry as well. However, the results of these surveys do not
represent all service-disabled veterans, only those that are VA
patients.
- Veterans who
use VA’s health care system will be familiar with many of the
questions that will be asked on the Commission’s survey, because
most of the questions come from one of these two VHA questionnaires.
- As part of our
contract with ORC Macro, we are requiring their staff to be
sensitive and responsive to any concerns respondents may have.
You may choose to leave a particular question unanswered, for
example, or stop the interview at any time.
- ORC Macro will
also work with selected participants to resolve any interviewing
problems due to hearing loss or other issues, if that is an area of
concern to you.
- Why were you
selected?
You are one of a randomly
selected sample so that survey results will be representative of all
service-disabled veterans or survivors. Your participation and
responses to the survey questions are critical because you were
selected to represent much larger groups.
-
How will your answers be used,
safeguarded and protected?
-
Only a small group of ORC Macro
staff will have access to your individual responses.
-
ORC Macro is contractually obligated
to keep all responses confidential and secure, and to use them for
research purposes only.
-
All individual-identifying
information will be separated from your actual responses and then
destroyed.
-
ORC Macro will not share individual
responses with anyone and will only
report aggregated results to the Commission.
-
No one will be able to identify
individual respondents.
Security Concerns
What security measures and additional
approvals has the Commission undergone to conduct this survey?
-
Due to the recent security concerns
within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Commission has
worked closely with VA to meet all new and updated security
precautions, including those now imposed on contractors.
-
The survey and the intended process
for conducting and analyzing it have been reviewed and approved by
an Institutional Review Board in accordance with the Department of
Health and Human Services, Office for Human Research Protections.
-
The Office of Management and Budget
also reviewed and approved the survey in accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act.
Call to Action
In conclusion, we
respectfully ask you to please consider participating in the survey.
The Commission would also appreciate your spontaneous input to the
questions asked, to provide us with the most insightful and valuable
feedback on the impact disability has had on you and your life after
service to our Nation.
We thank you for
your service to our country and for the service you are providing with
your participation in this survey.
---------------
Larry Scott
