[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 224 (Thursday, November 20, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62060-62061]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-30477]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[INFO-98-04]


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 the CDC Reports 
Clearance Officer on (404) 639-7090.
    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 for other 
forms of information technology. Send comments to Wilma Johnson, CDC 
Reports Clearance Officer, 1600 Clifton Road, MS-D24, Atlanta, GA 
30333. Written comments should be received within 60 days of this 
notice.

Proposed Projects

1. Defining Gulf War Illness; New

    This study will characterize and compare alternative 
classifications for symptoms and functional disability which remain 
medically unexplained in Gulf War veterans. This will be accomplished 
in three phases. Phase I will assess persistence and stability of 
symptoms over time, as well as compare the performance of data-driven 
case definitions derived from two samples: (1) the New Jersey Center 
for Environmental Hazards Research

[[Page 62061]]

sample of Gulf War veterans participating in the Department of Veterans 
Affairs Gulf War Registry; and (2) a cohort of Air Force members from a 
previous CDC study of Gulf War veterans and Gulf War-era controls from 
Pennsylvania and Florida. In addition to assessing data-driven case 
definitions for illness among Gulf War veterans, existing definitions 
for medically unexplained symptoms, such as chronic fatigue syndrome, 
multiple chemical sensitivity, and fibromyalgia will be evaluated. 
Phase II will attempt to assess the generalizability of both derived 
and existing case definitions in a random sample of deployed and non-
deployed Gulf War era veterans. Phase III will consist of a 
standardized telephone interview for the assessment of psychiatric 
conditions. This will be administered to a sample of Phase I and Phase 
II participants who are identified through their responses to paper-
and-pencil questionnaires as having high levels of psychologic 
distress. There is no cost to respondents.

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                                                                      No. of       Avg. Burden/                 
                   Respondents                        No. of        Responses/     Response (in    Total Burden 
                                                    Respondents     Respondent         hrs.)         (in hrs.)  
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Administer questionnaire to the New Jersey                                                                      
 Center for Environmental Hazards Research                                                                      
 sample of the Department of Veterans Affairs                                                                   
 Gulf War Registry veterans and the previous CDC                                                                
 Air Force Cohort (Phase).......................           7,312               1            0.45           5,484
Administer questionnaire to new random sample of                                                                
 Gulf War veterans and era controls (Phase II)..           3,000               1             .45           2,250
Telephone survey of Phase I and Phase II                                                                        
 participants who screened positive for                                                                         
 psychiatric conditions.........................             600               1               2           1,200
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................  ..............  ..............  ..............           8,934
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    Dated: November 13, 1997.
Wilma G. Johnson,
Acting Associate Director for Policy Planning and Evaluation, Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
[FR Doc. 97-30477 Filed 11-19-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P