[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 95 (Friday, May 16, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28515-28516]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-11313]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[60Day-14-0975]
Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and
Recommendations
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part of
its continuing effort to reduce public burden, invites the general
public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment
on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. To request more information on the
below proposed project or to obtain a copy of the information
collection plan 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 submitted in response to this notice will be summarized
and/or included in the request for Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) approval. 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; (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; and (e)
estimates of capital or start-up costs and costs of operation,
maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information. Burden
means the total time, effort, or financial resources expended by
persons to generate, maintain, retain, disclose or provide information
to or for a Federal agency. This includes the time needed to review
instructions; to develop, acquire, install and utilize technology and
systems for the purpose of collecting, validating and verifying
information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and
providing information; to train personnel and to be able to respond to
a collection of information, to search data sources, to complete and
review the collection of information; and to transmit or otherwise
disclose the information. Written comments should be received within 60
days of this notice.
Proposed Project
Virtual Reality to Train and Assess Emergency Responders (OMB No.
0920-0975, expires 07/31/2016)--Revision--National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC).
Background and Brief Description
NIOSH, under Public Law 91-173 as amended by Public Law 95-164
(Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977), and Public Law 109-236
(Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006) has the
responsibility to conduct research to improve working conditions and to
prevent accidents and occupational diseases in underground coal and
metal/nonmetal mines in the U.S.
The turn of the 21st century started with much promise for the coal
mining industry. Because there was only one underground disaster in the
1990s, it seemed that emergency response in the United States no longer
needed to be a top research priority. However, major coal mine
disasters between 2001 and 2010 have resulted in 65 fatalities. These
events highlighted the critical need to balance investments to reduce
low probability/high severity events with those that focus on frequent,
but less severe injuries and illnesses.
The present research project seeks to determine optimal use of
virtual reality (VR) technologies for training and assessing mine
emergency responders using the Mine Rescue and Escape Training
Laboratory (MRET Lab). Responders include specially trained
individuals, such as mine rescue or fire brigade team members, and also
managers and miners who may either be called upon to respond to an
emergency situation or engage in self-protective actions in response to
an emergency. This project is a step toward determining how new
immersive virtual reality technologies should be used for miner
training and testing in the US.
The project objective will be achieved through specific aims in two
related areas as illustrated below.
Training Assessment
1. Evaluate four training modules.
2. Evaluate participant reactions.
3. Develop guidelines.
Training Development
4. Use 3D technologies to develop a prototype for a mine rescue
closed-circuit breathing apparatus (e.g., Dr[auml]ger BG4).
To accomplish these goals over the life of the project, researchers
will utilize a variety of data collection strategies, including self-
report pre- and post-test instruments for assessing trainee reaction
and measuring learning. Data collection will take place with
approximately 210 underground coal miners over three years. The
respondents targeted for this study include rank-and-file miners, mine
rescue team members, and mine safety and health professionals. A sample
of 210 individuals will be collected from various mining operations and
mine rescue teams which have agreed to participate. All participants
will be between the ages of 18 and 65, currently employed, and living
in the United States. Findings will be used to improve the safety and
health of underground coal miners by assessing the efficacy of
immersive VR environments for teaching critical mine safety and health
skills.
To assess learning as a result of training, each participant will
complete a pre-training questionnaire, a post-simulation questionnaire,
and a post-training questionnaire. Participants evaluating the closed-
circuit breathing apparatus training will only complete a version of
the pre-training questionnaire. There is no cost to respondents other
than their time.
As stated previously in the previously approved information
collection request, research activities involving rank-and-file
underground coal miners who participate in the mine escape training may
occur at either the MRET Lab or in an off-site classroom or other
typical instructional setting either at an above-ground mine safety
training facility, mine administration building, or a university or
academic environment (hereinto referenced as the ``classroom
setting''). Having these two subsamples allows us to better assess uses
for VR training applications, determine the potential additive value of
training provided in the MRET Lab, and the potential benefits of
adapting simulation-based mine emergency training to a broader
audience. To accommodate an appropriate amount of mine escape
participants for both the MRET Lab modules and classroom settings, we
are requesting a revision in order to add 60 more participants to our
150 participant data collection cap,
[[Page 28516]]
which would ideally leave us with 30 BG4 participants, 60 mine rescue
participants (MRET Lab), 60 mine escape participants (MRET Lab), and 60
mine escape participants (classroom setting), for a new grand total of
210 participants.
Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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Number Average
Number of responses burden per Total burden
Type of respondent Form name respondents per response hours
respondent (in hours)
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Dr[auml]ger BG4 participants Pre-Training 30 1 3/60 2
(i.e., closed circuit breathing Questionnaire.
apparatus training participants).
Mine Rescue participants.......... Pre-Training 60 1 3/60 3
Questionnaire.
Post-Simulation 60 1 3/60 3
Questionnaire.
Post-Training 60 1 3/60 3
Questionnaire.
Mine Escape participants.......... Pre-Training 120 1 3/60 6
Questionnaire.
Post-Simulation 60 1 3/60 3
Questionnaire (MRET
Lab version).
Post-Simulation 60 1 3/60 3
Questionnaire
(Field Test
Version).
Post-Training 120 1 3/60 6
Questionnaire.
Mine Escape/Longwall Mining Pre/Post-Training 60 1 6/60 6
participants. Knowledge Test.
Mine Escape/Continuous Mining Pre/Post-Training 60 1 6/60 6
participants. Knowledge Test.
Mine Rescue/Longwall Mining Pre/Post-Training 30 1 6/60 3
participants. Knowledge Test.
Mine Rescue/Continuous Mining Pre/Post-Training 30 1 6/60 3
participants. Knowledge Test.
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Total......................... .................... ............ ............ ............ 47
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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. 2014-11313 Filed 5-15-14; 8:45 am]
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