Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[INFO-99-05]

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

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Tailored Occupational Safety and

Health Information on the World Wide Web: Increasing Knowledge and

Changing Behavior of Residential Building Construction Contractors--

New--The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

(NIOSH)--Workers in the construction industry face higher than normal

risks of fatal injury, nonfatal injury, and illness resulting from on-

the-job exposures. According to the National Institute for Occupational

Safety and Health (NIOSH), during the period from 1980 through 1992,

construction had the highest number of deaths resulting from workplace

injury--over 14,000 deaths, or more than 1,000 deaths per year.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Center to

Protect Workers' Rights (CPWR), construction had the highest number of

deaths resulting from injury (1,039) and the third highest rate of

fatal injury (13.9 deaths per 100,000 workers) in 1996.

The majority of construction companies are very small. According to

Dun and Bradstreet, 96% of residential building contractors employ less

than 15 workers on average; over 80% employ less than 5 workers. In

general, small companies have insufficient resources to identify and

apply risk and prevention information relevant to their operations.

According to a recent study (conducted by NIOSH), lack of tailored,

relevant, and timely occupational safety and health information is a

major barrier identified by small construction contractors.

The goals of this investigation are to: 1) explore the

effectiveness of tailored safety and health information that is

developed based on the individual contractor's construction specialties

and specific operations, as well as the contractor's psychosocial

factors; and 2) explore the effectiveness of the Internet World Wide

Web as a mechanism for delivering tailored safety and health

information. Specifically, the goal of this data collection is to

compare the effectiveness of tailored Internet messages (based on

interactive Internet and computer-tailoring technologies), non-tailored

Internet messages (based on current static, menu-driven, non-

interactive models), tailored print messages delivered by direct mail,

and non-tailored print messages delivered by direct mail in influencing

changes in safety- and health-related knowledge, intentions, and

behaviors. Messages will address two leading cases of injuries and

illnesses in construction: falls and silicosis.

The data collected in this study will be used to further current

understanding of tailoring safety and health information utilizing the

Internet, and the relative effectiveness of this approach when compared

to traditional and current mechanisms of communicating safety and

health information. The data collected in this study will also be used

to provide a basis for developing industry-specific occupational safety

and health information systems that provide relevant timely risk and

prevention information, especially to small business owners. The total

cost to respondents is $3,300.00.

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No. of Average burden/

Respondents No. of responses/ response (in Total burden

respondents respondent hrs.) (in hrs.)

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

Residential Building Construction

Contractors................................ 250 2 .33 165

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2. The development and implementation of a theory-based health

communications intervention to decrease silica dust exposure among

masonry workers--New--The National Institute of Occupational Safety and

Health (NIOSH)--Construction is the most frequently recorded industry

on death certificates with mention of silicosis. Overexposure to

crystalline silica is well documented in the construction industry,

especially in brick laying and masonry. According to 1993 BLS data,

there are 136,139 (at 24,362 establishments) masonry and brick laying

workers in the U.S. and according to a recent study, approximately

17,400 masonry and plastering workers are exposed to at least five

times the NIOSH recommended exposure limit (REL for crystalline silica)

and of these workers, an estimated 80 percent of them are

[[Page 68773]]

exposed to at least 10 times the NIOSH REL.

To effectively prevent silicosis, not only must control measures be

improved, but workers must be persuaded to protect themselves and

employers must be motivated to provide workers with proper engineering

controls and training. Previous research has too often focused on the

behaviors and attitudes of workers and not on employers. Since

employers have a tremendous influence on the health of workers and

since their motivations may differ from workers', it is important to

focus on them as well. Well-designed and theory-driven communication

interventions have the capacity to promote protective health behaviors.

To develop messages that will have the greatest success at motivating

workers to protect themselves and employers to protect their workers

from silicosis, information on workers' and employers' beliefs,

attitudes, and behaviors regarding silicosis must be determined. A

recently completed pilot-study indicated a need to motivate employers

to provide appropriate engineering controls and respiratory protection

and a need to persuade workers to protect themselves.

The goal of this project is to develop a health communication

intervention program targeting both masonry contractors and workers

that will increase the use of engineering controls (specifically, wet-

sawing) and respiratory protection. The aforementioned pilot study will

serve as a foundation upon which the intervention will be developed.

The effectiveness of the intervention will be evaluated using a pre-

post test questionnaire.

The study results will provide a basis for intervention programs

that masonry contractors can use to educate their workers regarding

risk of exposure to silica dust on masonry work sites. The methodology

could be applied to other construction procedures such as jack

hammering, sand blasting, and similar dust producing procedures to

produce similar intervention programs. Eventually we would hope, silica

exposures among construction workers would decrease significantly. The

total cost to respondents is $0.00.

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No. of Average burden/

Respondents No. of responses/ response (in Total burden

respondents respondent hrs.) (in hrs.)

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

Workers........................................ 200 2 0.33 132

Contractors.................................... 20 2 0.33 13.2

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Total...................................... .............. .............. .............. 145.2

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Charles W. Gollmar,

Acting Associate Director for Policy, Planning and Evaluation, Centers

for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

[FR Doc. 98-33035 Filed 12-11-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4163-18-P