Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[INFO-98-23]

Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and

Recommendations

In compliance with the requirement of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 for opportunity for public comment on

proposed data collection projects, the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention (CDC) will publish periodic summaries of proposed projects.

To request more information on the proposed projects or to obtain a

copy of the data collection plans and instruments, call the CDC Reports

Clearance Officer on (404) 639-7090.

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of

information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of

the agency, including whether the information shall have practical

utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the

proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality,

utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways

to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents,

including through the

[[Page 41260]]

use of automated collection techniques for other forms of information

technology. Send comments to Seleda Perryman, CDC Assistant Reports

Clearance Officer, 1600 Clifton Road, MS-D24, Atlanta, GA 30333.

Written comments should be received within 60 days of this notice.

Proposed Project

1. Evaluating an Alert to Firefighters--New--National Institute of

Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)--The mission of the National

Institute of Occupational Safety and Health is to promote ``safety and

health at work for all people through research and prevention.'' NIOSH

not only investigates and identifies occupational safety and health

hazards, the Institute also develops recommendations for controlling

those hazards and in some cases, distributes those recommendations

directly to affected workplaces.

One way that NIOSH accomplishes this kind of intervention is

through the Alert. The Alert is usually a six to ten page document that

outlines the nature of the hazard, the risks to workers, and the

recommendations for controlling the hazard. Again, the Alert is mailed

to workplaces potentially affected by the hazard.

It is unclear, however, whether the Alert is effective in

communicating the need for and methods for adopting NIOSH's

recommendations for controlling the hazard. To-date, none of the Alerts

have been rigorously evaluated, but preliminary research indicates that

the Alert could be more effective at encouraging safer workplace

practices.

The Alert has traditionally followed a standard format that does

not reflect current ``best practices'' in applied communications. In

this study, NIOSH proposes incorporating several alternative

communication strategies into an Alert and evaluating the effectiveness

of these alternatives.

The Alert chosen for this study is concerned with firefighters and

the injuries and fatalities that result from structural collapse. In

1998, Congress appropriated funds for NIOSH to conduct research and

proceed with interventions that will reduce the number of fatalities

among firefighters. Congress further instructed NIOSH to evaluate the

effectiveness of any interventions. This Alert is intended to be

directed at the 36,000 fire stations and 1.2 million career and

volunteer firefighters across the country.

NIOSH will vary the content of the Alert and add channels of

information to inform, educate, and help fire stations adopt safer work

practices. The goals of the study are twofold: (1) To reduce the risks

of injury and fatality among firefighters, (2) identify the more

effective ways to deliver vital health and safety information in NIOSH

Alerts. The study design will allow NIOSH to minimize costs while

identifying the most effective strategies. The total cost to

respondents is $0.00.

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Number of Avg. burden

Respondents Number of responses/ per response Total burden

respondents respondent (in hrs.) (in hrs.)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fire Chiefs..................................... 960 1 20/60 317

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Total....................................... .............. .............. .............. 317

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2. Customer Information Survey for Internet Users of the Self-Study

Modules on Tuberculosis for the Internet--NEW--National Centers for

HIV/STD/TB Prevention, Division of Tuberculosis Elimination,

Communications and Education Branch--The National Center for HIV/STD/TB

Prevention, Division of Tuberculosis Prevention proposes to survey

Internet users of the Self-Study Modules on Tuberculosis for the

Internet. The print-based Self-Study Modules on Tuberculosis remains

one of most popular educational and training resources produced by the

Communications and Education Branch (CEB) of the Division of

Tuberculosis Elimination (DTBE). The Self-Study Modules on Tuberculosis

for the Internet has far reaching potential as access to Web-based

training (WBT) increases. WBT may be particularly useful in training

non-traditional TB health care providers such as managed care staff and

private physicians. Furthermore, WBT provides quick access to TB

training materials for geographically diverse and isolated populations.

The development of the Self-Study Modules on TB was a joint effort

between CEB and the Division of Media and Training Services (DMTS). In

order to continually enhance our web-based training, as well as assess

who we are and are not reaching we propose to collect information from

individuals who is access the Self-Study Modules on Tuberculosis for

the Internet site. This information will include assessing why people

are interested in the course, what their profession is, employment

setting, country, how they heard about the training course, computer

capabilities, education, age, and location. This information will

assist in enhancing the training for future Internet users. It will

target marketing efforts to promote this training activity. There is no

cost to the respondent. We are requesting approval for a three year

period.

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Number of Average burden

Respondents Number of responses per per response Total burden

respondents respondent (in hrs) (in hrs)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Internet Users--Health Care Providers and others

involved in the Prevention and Control of

Tuberculosis................................... * 900 1 .03 27

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Total....................................... .............. .............. .............. 27

---------------------------------------------------------------

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* Based on 75 requests/month currently received for Print-based course. Projected for a 1 year period.

[[Page 41261]]

3. The Second Longitudinal Study of Aging (LSOA II)--(0920-0219)--

Revision--National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) The Second

Longitudinal Study of Aging is a second-generation, longitudinal survey

of a nationally representative sample of civilian, non-

institutionalized persons 70 years of age and older. Participation is

voluntary, and individually identified data are confidential. The LSOA

II replicates portions of the first Longitudinal Study of Aging (LSOA),

particularly the causes and consequences of changes in functional

status. In addition, the LSOA II is designed to monitor the impact of

changes in Medicare, Medicaid, and managed care on the health status of

the elderly and their patterns of health care utilization. Both LSOAs

are joint projects of the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)

and the National Institute on Aging (NIA).

The Supplement on Aging (SOA), part of the 1984 National Health

Interview Survey (NHIS), established a baseline on 7,527 persons who

were then aged 70 and older. The first LSOA reinterviewed them in 1986,

1988 and 1990. Data from the SOA and LSOA have been widely used for

research and policy analysis relevant to the older population.

In 1994, 9,447 persons aged 70 and over were interviewed as part of

the National Health Interview Survey's Second Supplement on Aging (SOA

II) between October of 1994 and March of 1996. The first LSOA II re-

interview wave was conducted between May 1997 and March 1998. The LSOA

II will re-interview the SOA II sample two additional times: in 1999

and 2001. As in the first LSOA, these reinterviews will be conducted

using computer assisted telephone interviewing (CATI). Beyond that,

LSOA II will use methodological and conceptual developments of the past

decade.

The LSOA II contains substantive topics on scientifically important

and policy-relevant domains, including: (1) Assistance with activities

of daily living, (2) chronic conditions and impairments, (3) family

structure, relationships, and living arrangements, (4) health opinions

and behaviors, (5) use of health, personal care and social services,

(6) use of assistive devices and technologies, (7) health insurance,

(8) housing and long-term care, (9) social activity, (10) employment

history, (11) transportation, and (12) cognition. This new data will

result in publication of new national health statistics on the elderly

and the release of public use micro data files. The total cost to

respondents is estimated at $106,275.

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Number of Avg. burden

Respondents Number of responses/ per response Total burden

respondents respondent (in hrs.) (in hrs.)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sample adult.................................... 9,447 1 .75 7,085

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Total....................................... .............. .............. .............. 7,085

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Dated: July 23, 1998.

Charles W. Gollmar,

Acting Associate Director for Policy, Planning and Evaluation, Centers

for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

[FR Doc. 98-20576 Filed 7-31-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4163-18-P