Agency Forms Undergoing Paperwork Reduction Act Review

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[30DAY-06-98]

Agency Forms Undergoing Paperwork Reduction Act Review

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publishes a

list of information collection requests under review by the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction

Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). To request a copy of these requests, call

the CDC Reports Clearance Office on (404) 639-7090. Send written

comments to CDC, Desk Officer; Human Resources and Housing Branch, New

Executive Office Building, Room 10235; Washington, DC 20503. Written

comments should be received on or before February 13, 1998.

Proposed Projects

1. The National Home and Hospice Care Survey (NHHCS)--(0920-0298)--

Revision--The National Home and Hospice Care Survey (NHHCS) was

conducted in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, and 1997. It is part of the Long-

Term Care component of the National Health Care Survey. Section 306 of

the Public Health Service Act states that the National Center for

Health Statistics ``shall collect statistics on health resources * * *

[and] utilization of health care, including utilization of * * *

services of hospitals, extended care facilities, home health agencies,

and other institutions.'' NHHCS data are used to examine this most

rapidly expanding sector of the health care industry. Data from the

NHHCS are used widely by the health care industry and policy makers for

such diverse analyses as the need for various medical supplies;

minority access to health care; and planning for the health care needs

of the elderly. The NHHCS also reveals detailed information on

utilization patterns, as needed to make accurate assessments of the

need for and costs associated with such care. Data from earlier NHHCS

collections have been used by the Congressional Budget Office, the

Bureau of Health Professionals, the Maryland Health Resources Planning

Commission, the National Association for Home Care, and by several

newspapers and journals. Additional uses are expected to be similar to

the uses of the National Nursing Home Survey. NHHCS data cover:

baseline data on the characteristics of hospices and home health

agencies in relation to their

[[Page 2245]]

patients and staff, Medicare and Medicaid certification, costs to

patients, sources of payment, patients' functional status and

diagnoses. Data collection is planned for the period July-November,

1998. Survey design is in process now. Sample selection and preparation

of layout forms will precede the data collection by several months. The

total annual burden hours are 5,625.

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Average

Number of Number of burden/ Total

Respondents respondents Responses/ response (in burden (in

Respondents hours) hours)

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

Agency Questionnaire....................................... 1350 1 0.333 450

Current Patient Sampling List.............................. 1350 1 0.333 450

Current Patient Questionnaire.............................. 1350 6 0.25 2025

Discharged Patient Sampling List........................... 1350 1 0.50 675

Discharged Patient Questionnaire........................... 1350 6 0.25 2025

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2. (NIOSH) Occupational Asthma Identification Methods -0920-0350--

Reinstatement--Over the last decade, Occupational Asthma (OA) has

emerged as the most prevalent occupational respiratory disease,

resulting in morbidity, disability, diminished productivity, and

rarely, death. Prevention of OA has become one of the most important

goals for NIOSH. This project addresses these issues by examining the

potential of different asthma screening approaches as surveillance

tools when employed serially over time among workers at risk, and also

characterizes the occurrence of and risk factors for occupational

asthma in various high risk industries.

The primary objective of the study is to examine the potential of

different asthma screening approaches as surveillance tools when

employed serially over time among workers at risk. A second major

objective is to characterize the occurrence of and risk factors for

occupational asthma in several industries, specifically workers rearing

insects for agricultural pest control, wood product workers using

isocyanates, and other occupational groups with different exposure

profiles. A series of four groups of screening measures are applied to

examine the potential of each measure in different situations. This

includes a questionnaire (including an occupational history), lung

function tests (shift spirometry, serial peak flow tests, airway

responsiveness), inflammation and immunology tests (specific and

nonspecific serum immunoglobulins, skin prick tests, nasal lavage for

cellular and biochemical factors), and environmental measurements

(gravimetric dusts, antigens, chemical vapors, viable organisms,

endotoxins). Workers exposed to 1) high molecular weight sensitizing

dusts, (insect particulate), 2) low molecular weight sensitizers,

(methylene biphenyldiisocyanate, MDI), and 3) irritant but not

sensitizing exposures, as well as a control group of unexposed workers,

are followed for two years. The results should be useful in improving

tools for recognition, monitoring, and surveillance of OA. In addition,

risk factors for OA will be further delineated, which will assist in

targeting OA prevention strategies for agricultural and other workers.

Total annual burden hours are 2,251.

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Average

Number of Number of burden/ Total

Form name respondents responses/ response (in burden (in

respondent hours) hours)

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

Initial questionnaire...................................... 250 1 0.333 83

Follow-up questionnaire.................................... 250 4 0.166 167

Occupational questionnaire/Skin Test....................... 250 1 0.75 188

Spirometry................................................. 250 20 0.083 417

Peak flow tests............................................ 250 300 0.016 1,250

Blood test................................................. 250 3 0.083 63

Nasal Lavage............................................... 250 1 0.333 83

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Dated: January 8, 1998.

Wilma G. Johnson,

Acting Associate Director for Policy Planning and Evaluation, Centers

for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

[FR Doc. 98-856 Filed 1-13-98; 8:45 am]

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