[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 34 (Wednesday, February 20, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11888-11889]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-03894]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[60-Day-13-0853]
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 404-639-7570 or
send comments to Ron Otten, 1600 Clifton Road, MS-D74, Atlanta, GA
30333 or send an email to [email protected].
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 or other
forms of information technology. Written comments should be received
within 60 days of this notice.
Proposed Project
Asthma Information Reporting System (AIRS) (0920-0853, Expiration
06/30/2013)--Extension--National Center for Environmental Health
(NCEH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Background and Brief Description
CDC is seeking a three-year extension of OMB approval for the AIRS
information collection. In 1999, the CDC began developing its National
Asthma Control Program, a population-based, public health approach to
addressing the burden of asthma. The program supports the goals and
objectives of ``Healthy People 2020'' for asthma and is based on the
public health principles of surveillance, partnerships, and
interventions. Through AIRS, the information collection request has and
will continue to provide NCEH with routine information about the
activities and performance of the state and territorial grantees funded
under the National Asthma Control Program http://www.cdc.gov/asthma/nacp.htm.
The primary purpose of the National Asthma Control Program is to
develop program capacity to address asthma from a public health
perspective to bring about: (1) A focus on asthma-related activity
within states; (2) an increased understanding of asthma-related data
and its application to program planning and evaluation through the
development and maintenance of an ongoing asthma surveillance system;
(3) an increased recognition, within the public health structure of
states, of the potential to use a public health approach to reduce the
burden of asthma; (4) linkages of state health agencies to other
agencies and organizations addressing asthma in the population; and (5)
implementation of interventions to achieve positive health impacts,
such as reducing the number of deaths, hospitalizations, emergency
department visits, school or work days missed, and limitations on
activity due to asthma.
The AIRS management information system is comprised of multiple
components that enable the electronic reporting of three types of data/
information from state asthma control programs: (1) Information that is
currently collected as part of interim (semi-annual) and end-of-year
progress reporting, (2) Aggregate level reports of surveillance data on
long-term program outcomes, and (3) Specific data indicative of
progress made on: Partnerships, surveillance, interventions, and
evaluation.
Prior to implementation of AIRS, data were collected on an interim
(semi-annual) basis from state asthma control programs as part of
regular reporting of cooperative agreement activities. States reported
information such as progress-to-date on accomplishing intended
objectives, programmatic changes, changes to staffing or management,
and budgetary information.
Regular reporting this information is a requirement of the
cooperative agreement mechanism utilized to fund state asthma control
programs. States are asked to submit interim (semi-annual) and year-end
progress report information into AIRS, thus this type of programmatic
information on activities and objectives will continue to be collected
twice per year (interim report and end-of-year report).
The National Asthma Control Program at CDC has access to and
analyzes national-level asthma surveillance data (http://www.cdc.gov/asthma/asthmadata.htm). With the exception of data from the Behavioral
Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), state level analyses cannot be
performed. Therefore, as part of AIRS, state asthma control programs
submit aggregate surveillance data to allow calculation of state asthma
surveillance indicators across all funded states (where data is
available) in a standardized manner. Data requests through this system
regularly include: hospital discharges (with asthma as first listed
diagnosis), and emergency department visits (with asthma as first
listed diagnosis). Under AIRS, participating states annually submit
this information to the AIRS system in conjunction with an end-of-year
report describing state activities
[[Page 11889]]
that meet project objectives described above.
National and state asthma surveillance data provide information
useful to examine progress on long-term outcomes of state asthma
programs. To identify appropriate indicators of program implementation
and short-term outcomes for AIRS, CDC previously convened and
facilitated workgroups comprised of state asthma control program
representatives to generated specific questions to collect data on key
features of state asthma control programs: partnerships, surveillance,
interventions, and evaluation.
Since implementation in 2010 AIRS, and technical assistance
provided by NCEH staff, has provided states with uniform data reporting
methods and linkages to other states' asthma programs and data. Thus,
AIRS has saved state resources and staff time when they embark on
asthma activities similar to those being done elsewhere. Also, the AIRS
system has been similarly helpful in linking states together on
occasions when a given state seeks to report their results at national
meetings or publish their findings and program results either in
scholarly journals. For example, with CDC staff, three state programs
co-presented on a panel regarding evaluations of their asthma
partnerships at the November, 2012 American Evaluation Association's
Evaluation 2012 conference.
In addition, CDC staff have regularly made requests from AIRS to
obtain standardized summaries of state programs to obtain data
summaries regarding such activities as the number of states meeting
staffing requirements, number and timeliness of state strategic
evaluation plans, topics for individual evaluation selected by states,
types and targets of interventions, and use of asthma surveillance data
in state programs.
Furthermore, access to standardized AIRS surveillance and
programmatic data allows CDC to provide timely and accurate responses
to the public and Congress regarding the NCEH asthma program (e.g., how
many states have asthma interventions targeting schools, how many
children are treated in emergency departments, etc.).
There will be no cost for respondents, other than their time, to
participate in AIRS. The total estimated annual burden hours are 288.
Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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Average
Number of Number of burden per Total burden
Type of respondents Form name respondents responses per response (in (in hours)
respondent hours)
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State Health Departments...... Interim report 36 1 2 72
on activities
and objectives.
End-of-year 36 1 6 216
report on
activities,
objectives and
aggregate
surveillance.
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Total..................... ................ .............. .............. .............. 288
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Dated: February 12, 2013.
Ron A. Otten,
Director, Office of Scientific Integrity (OSI), Office of the Associate
Director for Science (OADS), Office of the Director, Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2013-03894 Filed 2-19-13; 8:45 am]
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