[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 205 (Thursday, October 23, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63402-63404]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-25251]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[60Day-15-0985]
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 A. 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
[[Page 63403]]
be received within 60 days of this notice.
Proposed Project
Returning Our Veterans to Employment and Reintegration (OMB No.
0920-0985, expires 09/30/2015)--Revision--National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC).
Background and Brief Description
The mission of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health (NIOSH) is to promote safety and health at work for all people
through research and prevention. The Occupational Safety and Health
Act, Public Law 91-596 (section 20[a][1]), authorizes NIOSH to conduct
research to advance the health and safety of workers. NIOSH is
requesting a three-year approval to account for the proposed changes to
0920-0985 in order to improve the response rates for one of the two
surveys included in the information collection, the Veterans Survey. No
changes have been made to the Assistance Dog Provider Survey.
Veterans with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) face
barriers that prevent many of them from successfully reintegrating into
society and returning to the work force. Various reports claim that
higher unemployment rates and increased healthcare costs and
utilization are associated with PTSD. Symptoms associated with PTSD
include diminished interest or participation in significant activities,
feelings of detachment or estrangement from others, difficulty falling
or staying asleep, hyper vigilance, exaggerated startle response,
difficulty with concentration or attention, and a restricted range of
affect. Amelioration of PTSD symptoms is necessary to facilitate
reintegration of veterans into society and the workforce; these
benefits may also contribute positively to veterans' overall physical
and psychological health.
An approach for helping veterans with PTSD and other psychiatric
impairments is that of using service dogs for assistance and support. A
quick Internet search will find dozens of Web sites by providers of
service dogs for veterans, with assistance in transition to daily life
(not necessarily employment) being the primary goal. The present
research study will focus on the following questions with two surveys.
The Assistance Dog Provider Survey will target service dog
providers to address the following questions:
1. Among assistance dog providers sampled in the U.S., how many
provide services to veterans?
2. Among assistance dog providers that provide services to
veterans, what are the specific strategies used or services offered to
address issues related to veterans and, specifically, return to work?
3. From the perspective of assistance dog providers, have the
services or the requests for services to assist veterans return to work
increased, decreased, or remained the same during the past five years.
The Veteran Survey will target veterans to address the following
questions:
1. Is a veteran's history or current experience with pet ownership/
bonding associated with physical, psychological, and emotional health?
2. Is a veteran's history with pet ownership/bonding associated
with their ability to cope with post-deployment or post-service
stressors?
3. Is a veteran's current experience with pet ownership/bonding
associated with their ability to cope with post-deployment or post-
service stressors?
4. Do the facilitators and barriers associated with reemployment
differ by veterans' physical, psychological, and emotional health?
5. What factors mediate or moderate the impact of pet ownership/
bonding among veterans' with physical and/or psychological disabilities
and with regard to the facilitators and barriers associated with
reemployment?
The purpose of both surveys is to increase available information
about services provided to veterans by assistance dog training
organizations, and to increase available information on veteran's
attitudes and perceptions about physical, psychological, physiological,
and functional barriers that prevent veterans with PTSD and other
physical or psychiatric disorders from returning to work, and to
provide information about the potential benefits of animals and animal-
assisted interventions.
The information and the Internet link to the web-based Assistance
Dog Provider Survey will be sent by email to approximately 1,000
service dog providers. It is estimated that 700 individuals will read
the initial email or take the follow up phone call only. Depending on
the level of involvement of each agency, activities associated with
reading the email and responding to the email is estimated to take each
respondent approximately five minutes and taking the follow up phone
call is estimated to take an additional five minutes.
The information and the Internet link to the web-based veteran
survey will be sent by email to approximately 300 veteran agencies. The
activities associated with reading the email, taking the follow up
phone call, and distributing the flyer (and postcards, if requested) or
forwarding the survey announcement to additional individuals is
estimated to take up to five minutes each. These agencies will then
distribute the email and flyer to the veterans associated with the
agency at their discretion. Based on the results of similar studies, we
anticipate a response rate of approximately 6,000 veterans.
Results of this survey will lead to recommendations and guidance
for assistance dog providers, healthcare professionals, researchers,
and policymakers pertaining to animal-assisted interventions to help
facilitate the reintegration and reemployment of Veterans. These
surveys are part of a larger project that will identify priorities and
new opportunities for research, as well as address policy implications
associated with public access rights afforded to service dogs by the
Americans with Disabilities Act. There are no costs to the respondents
other than their time. The total estimated annual burden hours are
6,586.
We are requesting four changes to the Veteran Survey: (1) The
inclusion of an incentive (the chance to win a $50 VISA gift card after
completing all or portions of the survey), (2) revised, simplified
survey announcements (emails and flyers), (3) an additional
announcement in the form of postcards to be provided (only if
requested) to veterans agencies to assist their dissemination of the
survey announcement, and (4) the addition of a collaborating
investigator. Changes 1-3 are attempts to increase the response rate.
To date, only 66 veterans have completed the survey; the target number
of respondents is 6,000. The average burden associated with Change 3 is
expected to increase up to 60 minutes for some veteran's agency
personnel. No change in burden is expected for veterans.
No changes to any aspect of the Assistance Dog Provider Survey are
being requested in this revision. Data collection is ongoing, but a
sufficient number of service dog providers have completed the survey
that changes to the recruitment methods are not necessary.
[[Page 63404]]
Estimated Annualized Burden Hour
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Number of Average burden
Type of respondent Form name Number of responses per per response Total burden
respondents respondent (in hours) hours
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Assistance Dog Providers (who Assistance Dog 700 1 5/60 58
read the initial email). Provider
Recruitment
Email.
Assistance Dog Providers (who Assistance Dog 700 1 5/60 58
take follow up phone call). Provider Survey
Reminder Follow-
up Telephone
Script.
Assistance Dog Providers Assistance Dog 300 1 30/60 150
choosing to complete survey. Provider Survey.
Veterans Agency Contacts (who Veterans Survey 100 1 5/60 8
read the initial email). Announcement
Email.
Veterans Agency Contacts (who Veterans Survey 100 1 5/60 8
take follow up phone call). Follow-up
Telephone
Script.
Veterans Agency Contacts (who Veterans Survey 100 1 1 100
opt to receive and distribute Announcement
the postcards). Postcard.
U.S. Veterans................. Veteran Survey.. 6,000 1 1 6,000
U.S. Veterans................. Raffle Form..... 6,000 1 2/60 200
U.S. Veterans (who are Raffle Winner 25 1 5/60 2
selected as winners in raffle Telephone
and are contacted by phone). Script.
U.S. Veterans (who are Raffle Winner 25 1 5/60 2
selected as winners in raffle Contact Email.
and contacted by email).
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Total..................... ................ .............. .............. .............. 6,586
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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. 2014-25251 Filed 10-22-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P