[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 228 (Tuesday, November 26, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70562-70563]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-28296]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[60Day-14-14CW]
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 LeRoy Richardson, 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
Health and Socioeconomic Sequelae of the WTC Disaster among
Responders--New--National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
(NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Background and Brief Description
Since the inception of the World Trade Center (WTC) Medical
Monitoring and Treatment Program (MMTP), health reports have focused on
disorders of the aerodigestive tract and mental health consequences,
and with the exception of spirometry, comparisons with general and
normative population data have not been made. Furthermore, none of the
previous studies comprehensively evaluated the changes of socioeconomic
status in WTC responders after 9/11. Lowered socioeconomic status (SES)
is an important potential consequence of WTC exposures that can
negatively impact the physical and mental health status among WTC
responders. The main objective of this study is to establish an
expanded occupational health surveillance system that summarizes
overall health status of WTC responders over time, and also provides
information about symptoms not previously reported. Through this work,
it is possible that other health outcomes will be identified and
reported, such as autoimmune disorders. This expanded surveillance
system will supplement reports the WTC Data Center (DC) will be
providing. To provide a reference population, the WTC cohort will be
compared to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and the
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to compare physical
and mental health status by matching variables. The comparison will
estimate
[[Page 70563]]
the magnitude of the impact of WTC exposure on the health of WTC
responders compared with the general population in U.S. and New York-
White Plains-Wayne, NY/NJ metropolitan area. Findings from this
expanded surveillance will be reported through an integrated
occupational health surveillance report. The term ``integrated
occupational health surveillance report'' means a detailed and overall
description of health status over time, with a comparison of groups
both within the cohort and from the general population. The findings
from this report will also aid in the future development of new
guidelines for the implementation of an occupational health
surveillance system for disasters, which is essential for disaster
preparedness. Along with implementing a surveillance system, an
additional objective will be to investigate ambi-directional effect
modification between SES and health status. By ascertaining effect
modification, SES will be added as one of the important variables
necessary to perform surveillance. The study hypotheses for the effect
modification investigation are (1) WTC exposures lower health status;
(2) WTC exposures lower socioeconomic status; and (3) an interaction
effect exists between these variables. This investigation for effect
modification between health and SES is a unique research topic that has
not been studied for WTC responders. Understanding the nature of the
linkage between health and SES will help to identify high risk groups
and offer a primary target for prevention and intervention strategies.
With successful completion of this 2-year study, we expect a
substantial improvement of the occupational health surveillance system
for WTC responders.
The World Trade Center (WTC) research team at the North Shore-LIJ
Health System is seeking to evaluate the impact of using modified
survey questions versus standard questions when participant responses
from the WTC and general populations are compared.
The WTC Health Program has been collecting self-reported health
information for medical monitoring purposes. Initially, the questions
were derived from multiple standard general population surveys, such as
the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and the
National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). However, certain questions
were modified from their standard versions, and we would like to
determine whether these modifications may lead study participants to
answer differently.
CDC requests Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval to
collect information from an anonymous (no personal information will be
collected) and voluntary questionnaire, in order to test this research
question. We will compare participant responses to a short
questionnaire (approximately two pages of main content) which will
contain both the modified and standard questions.
The total estimated burden for the one-time completion of the
anonymous questionnaire is 50 hours (600 respondents x 5 minutes each).
Blank questionnaires will be placed in the waiting area of the Queens
WTC Clinical Center of Excellence at Long Island Jewish Medical Center/
Queens College (Queens WTC Clinical Centers of Excellence). There will
be no verbal solicitation for participation; however, we will post a
written advertisement in the waiting area of the clinic.
CDC anticipates that questionnaire collection will take place from
December 2014-December 2015. The total estimated annualized burden
hours are 50.
There are no costs to respondents other than their time.
Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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Number of Average burden
Type of respondents Form name Number of responses per per response Total burden
respondents respondent (in hrs.) (in hrs.)
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Individual WTC Responders... Health and 600 1 5/60 50
Socioeconomic
Sequelae of
the WTC
Disaster among
Responders.
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Total................... ............... ............... ............... ............... 50
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LeRoy Richardson,
Chief, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Scientific
Integrity, Office of the Associate Director for Science, Office of the
Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2013-28296 Filed 11-25-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P