Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[INFO-99-01]

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 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.

1. Proposed Project

The State and Local Area Integrated Telephone Survey (SLAITS)--

(0920-0406)-Revision--The National Center for Health Statistics, (NCHS)

is planning to expand from the short term pilot study phase to a long

term integrated and coordinated survey system designed to collect

needed health and welfare data at the state and local levels. Using the

random-digit-dialing sampling frame from the ongoing National

Immunization Survey (NIS) and Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing

(CATI), the State and Local Area Integrated Telephone Survey (SLAITS)

can quickly collect and produce data to monitor health status, child

and family well-being, health care utilization, access to care, program

participation, and changes in health care coverage at the state and

local levels. These efforts are conducted in cooperation with state and

local officials. SLAITS offers a centrally administered data collection

mechanism with standardized questionnaires and quality control measures

which allow comparability of estimates between states, over time, and

with national data. As demonstrated in the pilot study phase, SLAITS is

designed to allow for oversampling of population subdomains and to meet

federal, state and local needs for subnational estimates which are

compatible with national data.

Questionnaire content is drawn from existing surveys such as the

National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), the National Health and

Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), the Current Population Survey

(CPS), the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), the

National Household Education Survey, and the National Survey of

America's Families, as well as the three questionnaire modules that

were developed for SLAITS during the pilot study phase. These modules

include Health, Child Well-Being and Welfare, and Children's Health

Insurance and Health Care Utilization.

The strategy of building on established survey systems provides

several advantages. It is less costly than establishing a new system;

the proposed questions have been thoroughly tested; and implementation

can occur rapidly. Basing SLAITS on questions from the NHIS, CPS, and

other national in-person surveys will allow for comparisons with

national data. In addition, the quality of the estimates developed from

the telephone survey can be improved with adjustments for households

without telephones using health and socio-demographic information from

telephone and non telephone households from the NHIS and other in-

person surveys.

Funding for SLAITS is being sought through a variety of mechanisms

including Foundation grants, State collaborations, and federal

appropriation and evaluation monies. The level of implementation will

depend on the amount of funding received and can be expanded as funding

permits. Questionnaire modules will be compiled to address the data

needs of interest to the federal, state or

[[Page 56655]]

local funding agency or organization. The total cost to respondents is

estimated at $463,500.

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Number of Average burden/

Respondents Number of responses/ response in Total burden

respondents respondents hrs.) (in hrs.)

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Noninstitutionalized household population in 50

States and D.C................................. 102,000 1 0.30 30,600

Pretest modules................................. 900 1 0.30 300

Total..................................... .............. .............. .............. 30,900

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2. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)--

(0920-0237)--Revision--The National Center for Health Statistics

(NCHS). The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)

has been conducted periodically since 1970 by NCHS. NHANES will begin

again in February 1999 and will be conducted on a continuous, rather

than periodic, basis from that point on. The plan is to sample about

5,000 persons annually. They will receive an interview and a physical

examination. A dress rehearsal of 555 sample persons is needed to test

computer-assisted personal interviews (including translations into

Spanish), examination protocols, automated computer systems and quality

control procedures. Participation in the dress rehearsal and main

survey will be completely voluntary and confidential.

NHANES programs produce descriptive statistics which measure the

health and nutrition status of the general population. Through the use

of questionnaires, physical examinations, and laboratory tests, NHANES

studies the relationship between diet, nutrition and health in a

representative sample of the United States. NHANES monitors the

prevalence of chronic conditions and risk factors related to health

such as coronary heart disease, arthritis, osteoporosis, pulmonary and

infectious diseases, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol,

obesity, smoking, drug and alcohol use, environmental exposures, and

diet. NHANES data are used to establish the norms for the general

population against which health care providers can compare such patient

characteristics as height, weight, and nutrient levels in the blood.

Data from NHANES can be compared to those from previous surveys to

monitor changes in the health of the U.S. population. NHANES will also

establish a national probability sample of genetic material for future

genetic research for susceptibility to disease.

Users of NHANES data include Congress; the World Health

Organization; Federal agencies such as NIH, EPA, and USDA; private

groups such as the American Heart Association; schools of public

health; private businesses; individual practitioners; and

administrators. NHANES data are used to establish, monitor, and

evaluate recommended dietary allowances, food fortification policies,

programs to limit environmental exposures, immunization guidelines and

health education and disease prevention programs. Approval was received

on 5/29/98 for only a pilot test of the revised survey--without the

genetic research component. This submission requests three year

approval for the dress rehearsal and the full survey, including all

components.

The survey description, contents, and uses are the same as those in

the Federal Register notice for the pilot test. The total cost to

respondents for the period covered by this notice is estimated at

$1,889,440.

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Number of Average burden/

Burden category Number of responses/ response (in Total burden

respondents respondent hrs.) (hours)

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1. Screening interview only..................... 40,401 1 0.167 6,747

2. Screener and household interviews only....... 2,130 1 0.434 924

2. Screener, household, and SP interviews only.. 3,198 1 1.100 3,518

3. Screener, household, and SP interviews and

primary MEC exam only.......................... 15,771 1 6.613 104,294

4. Screener, household, and SP interviews,

primary MEC exam and full MEC replicate exam... 789 1 11.613 9,163

5. Screener, household, and SP interviews, MEC

exam and dietary replicate interview only (5% +

optional 15%).................................. 3,156 1 8.363 26,394

6. Home exam.................................... 213 1 2.700 575

7. Telephone follow-up of elderly -option....... 3,501 1 0.750 2,626

Total..................................... .............. .............. .............. 154,240

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Dated: October 15, 1998.

Charles W. Gollmar,

Acting Associate Director for Policy, Planning and Evaluation, Centers

for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

[FR Doc. 98-28304 Filed 10-21-98; 8:45 am]

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