[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 21 (Friday, January 31, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5414-5415]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-02027]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[30Day 14-0955]
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
(404) 639-7570 or send an email to [email protected]. Send written comments
to CDC Desk Officer, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC
20503 or by fax to (202) 395-5806. Written comments should be received
within 30 days of this notice.
Proposed Project
Early Hearing Detection and Intervention--Pediatric Audiology Links
to Service (EHDI-PALS) Survey (0920-0955, Expiration 02/28/2014)--
Revision--National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental
Disabilities (NCBDDD), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC).
Background and Brief Description
The Division of Human Development and Disability, located within
NCBDDD, promotes the health of babies, children, and adults, with a
focus on preventing birth defects and developmental disabilities and
optimizing the health outcomes of those with disabilities. Since the
passage of the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Act, 97%
of newborn infants are now screened for hearing loss prior to hospital
discharge. However, many of these infants have not received needed
hearing tests and follow up services after their hospital discharges.
The 2011 national average loss to follow-up/loss to documentation rate
is at 35%. This rate remains an area of critical concern for state EHDI
programs and CDC-EHDI team's goal of timely diagnosis by 3 months of
age and intervention by 6 months of age.
Many states cite the lack of audiology resources as the main factor
behind the high loss to follow up. To compound the problem, many
pediatric audiologists may be proficient evaluating children age 5 and
older but are not proficient with diagnosing infants or younger
children because children age 5 and younger require a different skill
set.
No existing literature or database was available to help states
verify and quantify their states' true follow up capacity until this
project went live in 2013.
Meeting since April 2010, the EHDI-PALS workgroup has sought
consensus on the loss to follow up/loss to documentation issue facing
the EHDI programs. A survey based on standard of care practice was
developed for state EHDI programs to quantify the pediatric audiology
resource distribution within their state, particularly audiology
facilities that are equipped to provide follow up services for children
age 5 and younger. After nine months of data collection, preliminary
data suggested that children residing in certain regions of the United
States who were loss to follow up were due to the distance parents had
to travel to reach a pediatric audiology facility. For example, parents
who reside in western region of Nebraska and Iowa on average have to
drive over 100 miles to reach a pediatric audiology facility.
CDC is requesting an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval
to continue collecting audiology facility information from audiologists
or facility managers so both parents, physicians and state EHDI
programs will have a tool to find where
[[Page 5415]]
the pediatric audiology facilities are located. This survey will
continue to allow CDC-EHDI team and state EHDI programs to compile a
systematic, quantifiable distribution of audiology facilities and the
capacity of each facility to provide services for children age 5 and
younger. The data collected will also allow the CDC-EHDI team to
analyze facility distribution data to improve technical assistance to
State EHDI programs.
Two additional questions will be added to the existing survey. The
two questions will ask for more information from audiology facilities
that provide services by remote telepractice technology. This
information will be of vital interest and benefit for both parents who
live in remote regions of the US and state EHDI programs to maximize
resource coverage.
Respondents will all be audiologists who manage a facility or
provide audiologic care for children age 5 and younger. To minimize
burden and improve convenience, the survey will continue to be
available via a secure password protected Web site. Placing the survey
on the internet ensures convenient, on-demand access by the
audiologists. Financial cost is minimized because no mailing fee will
be associated with sending or responding to this survey.
EHDI-PALS currently has 892 facilities in the database since the
beginning of the data collection. All 892 facilities' contacts will
receive a brief email from the University of Maine to remind them to
review their survey answers. It is estimated that approximately 800
audiologists will do so.
It takes approximately nine minutes per person to review the survey
answers. Both the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
and American Academy of Audiology (AAA) are members of the EHDI-PALS
workgroup and will continue to disseminate a request through
association e-newsletters and e-announcements to all audiologists who
provide services to children younger than 5 years of age to complete
the EHDI-PALS survey. It is estimated that, potentially, an additional
400 new audiologists will complete the revised survey, which will take
approximately nine minutes per respondent. The nine minutes calculation
is based on a previous timed pre-test with six volunteer audiologists.
There are no costs to respondents other than their time. The total
estimated annual burden hours are 180.
Estimates of Annualized Burden Hours
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Number of Average burden per
Respondents Form name Number of responses per response (in
respondents respondent hours)
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Audiologists who have completed Annual Survey 800 1 9/60
survey. Review.
New Audiologists................ Revised Survey.... 400 1 9/60
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Leroy A. 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. 2014-02027 Filed 1-30-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P