Budgeting a Proposed Research Study in Health Disparities

Budget: Reducing Risky Behavior Among African-American Female Adolescents

The membership of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) is almost 200,000 in number (AANP, 2014a), but sending a survey to all members would be prohibitively expensive. The membership ranks are divided into regions within the United States and regions 2, 3, 5, and 11 represent the more urbanized ones (AANP, 2014b). The addresses of members will be cross-referenced with the major urban areas in these regions (SBA, n.d.; SSDAN, n.d.) and a random sample of 1,000 will be selected from this group and sent an information packet, with the hope of recruiting at least 115 mother-daughter dyads through these providers. The cost of 1,000 first class stamps will be $490 dollars, but another 1,000 postcard stamps will be needed for the response cards included in the recruitment package. The total postage costs for the initial phase of the study will be $980 dollars.

The total number of providers needed to reach the goal of 115 mother-daughter dyads is unknown. If only two mother-daughter dyads are recruited through each provider then 58 providers will need to be recruited. The providers, mothers, and daughters who are selected randomly to participate in the study will receive the pretest questionnaires together in a package mailed to the providers. The cost of postage for each package will be about $1 dollar, for a total estimated cost of $60 dollars. All surveys will be accompanied by a return-addressed and stamped envelope. Since providers will complete their own questionnaire, and mothers and daughters will each complete a pretest survey, the total number of stamps required for the pretest phase of the study will be 58 + 115 + 115 = 288, for a total cost of $142 dollars. The posttest survey will be mailed for an estimated cost of $57 dollars and return postage will cost $113 dollars, for a total of $170 dollars.

The total amount of postage needed for the study will therefore be: $980 + $60 + $170 = $1,210 dollars; however, the cost of requests for copies of the findings could be significant and if all participants make a request, then the postage required could reach $288 dollars depending on the weight of the findings. The maximum cost of postage could therefore reach the grand total of about $1,500 dollars, but will likely be significantly less.

Papers costs and copying fees will also be significant. The initial query will involve 1,000 envelopes containing a return addressed and stamped postcard. Based on the pricing at the office supply chain Staples, 1,000 black-n-white postcards will cost $84 dollars and 1,000 first class envelopes will cost $64 dollars. If two pages of double-sided text are included in the recruitment package, explaining the purpose of the study, then at 10 cents per page the total cost for 1,000 recruitment packages would be $200 dollars. The paper and printing costs for the recruitment package will therefore total $348 dollars.

The documents needed for the study include consent forms for providers, mothers, and daughters, provider questionnaire, mother pretest and posttest questionnaires, and daughter pretest and posttest questionnaires. Envelopes will also be needed. The itemized costs of these materials are detailed in Table 1, for a total cost of $224.32 dollars.

Table 1: Itemized Costs for Study Documents

Participants

Consent forms

Pretest Questionnaires

Posttest Questionnaires

Providers

58 x 0.10 ea = $5.80

58 x 0.20 ea = $11.60

N/A

Mothers

115 x 0.10 ea = $11.50

115 x 0.30 ea = $34.50

115 x 0.30 ea = $34.50

Daughters

115 x 0.10 ea = $11.50

115 x 0.30 ea = $34.50

115 x 0.30 ea = $34.50

Envelopes

58 x 0.22 ea = $12.76

288 x 0.064 ea = $18.44

230 x 0.064 ea = $14.72

Assembling the materials and stuffing the envelopes will be labor intensive, as will opening envelopes and extracting the data from completed surveys. Two work study students will be hired to perform these duties. A total of 160 hours will be budgeted at a rate of $12.00 per hour, for a total of $1,920 dollars. A salary will not be budgeted for researchers, since the study will be completed on a volunteer basis.

Table 2: Cost of Proposed Study

Expenditures

Cost

Postage

$1,500

Paper and copying

$573

Work study wages

$1,920

Total

$3,993

The total estimated cost for the study is $3,993 dollars (Table 2). This figure excludes any costs associated with computing equipment and spreadsheet software, since these materials are readily available. The cultural competency training is also free through an online portal.

Requests for study findings by all participants could reach a total of 288 requests. The cost of envelopes, a single sheet of paper, and a first class stamp could reach $19 + $29 + $142 dollars, respectively, for a total of $190 after rounding up to the nearest dollar.

When the costs of the study are combined with the potential costs of distributing the study results to all participants the total could reach $4,183 dollars.

Funding Sources

The total amount of funding needed for this study is $4,200 or less, a relatively small amount of money for a research study. Probably the best source for this funding would be an intramural award, similar to that offered by the College of Nursing at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (n.d.). For example, Bryant was awarded $3,000 in funding to better understand how older African-American males experience depression. There is thus an interest in understanding how racial disparities impact the health outcomes of minorities. This study was awarded by the College of Nursing at the university.

There are several other potential sources of funding, including the American Nurses Foundation (ANF) (2014). Through the ANF an applicant can seek funding from a large number of potential sources and many of them would be relevant to a study focused on the intersection between health disparities and risky behavior. For example, the Hildegard E. Peplau (EdD, RN, FAAN) grants up to $5,000 to a beginning researcher interested in mental health with a focus on interpersonal relations. Provider cultural competency training as an intervention for reducing risky behavior among African-American female adolescents would be relevant. Another example would be the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (ANAC), which awards up to $5,000 in funding for a beginning researcher interested in HIV-related prevention care. There are at least another half dozen potential funding sources listed on the ANF website that would be appropriate for this project.