[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 14 (Friday, January 22, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3520-3521]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-1431]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[INFO-99-07]


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 Seleda Perryman, CDC 
Assistant Reports Clearance Officer, 1600 Clifton Road, MS-D24, 
Atlanta, GA 30333. Written comments should be received within 60 days 
of this notice.

Proposed Project

    The Role of Positive and Negative Emotion in Promoting Hearing 
Conservation Behaviors Among Coal Miners--New--The mission of the 
National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is to 
promote ``safety and health at work for all people through research and 
prevention.'' NIOSH investigates and identifies occupational safety and 
health hazards and conducts a variety of activities, including 
educational programs with workers, to help prevent work-related illness 
and injury.
    One of the most widespread, but often overlooked, occupational 
hazards is noise. As a result, hearing loss is the most common 
occupational diseases in the United States today. More than 30 million 
workers are exposed to hazardous noise levels.
    The risk of hearing loss is particularly high in certain 
occupations. Research shows that more than 90 percent of coal miners 
will experience moderate to significant hearing loss by the time they 
reach retirement. This level of hearing loss has a number of negative 
implications for both the affected individual and others: (1) impaired 
communication with family members, friends, and coworkers can result in 
social isolation; (2) unrelenting tinnitus (ringing in the ears) can 
significantly lower one's quality of life; (3) a diminished ability to 
monitor the work environment (including warning signals, etc.) 
increases the risk of accidents and further injury at the workplace; 
and finally, (4) there are economic costs that result from workers 
compensation and lower productivity.
    NIOSH believes that there are two broad strategies for reducing the 
risk of hearing loss. First, wherever possible, engineering controls 
have to be implemented at the source of the hazardous noise. Second, 
workers have to be educated about hazardous levels of noise and what 
they can do to prevent hearing loss. This study falls into the latter 
category.
    The study is required because past efforts at educating coal miners 
about hearing loss have had only mixed success. Hearing loss occurs 
without pain or obvious physical abnormalities, so it has been 
difficult to create a sense of urgency about this problem among 
workers. NIOSH has to identify new and more effective ways of promoting 
hearing conservation behaviors.
    In this study, NIOSH proposes working with the United Mine Workers 
of America, and experts in health communication, to test the 
effectiveness of several innovative approaches to

[[Page 3521]]

communicating risk and promoting safer behaviors. Different messages 
will be sent to five different groups of coal miners. All participants 
will receive some beneficial information. The researchers will follow 
up with these groups at two different points in time to assess the 
relative effectiveness of the messages.
    The central purpose of this study is to promote hearing 
conservation among coal miners. However, NIOSH believes that the 
results of this study will help in similar efforts with other worker 
populations. The total cost to respondents is $0.00.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                       Avg. burden
                                                            Number of     Number of        per      Total burden
                       Respondents                         respondents   responses/     response      (in hrs.)
                                                                         respondent     (in hrs.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coal Miners in Pretest..................................            80             1            .5            40
Coal Miners in Study....................................           300             2            .5           300
                                                                                                   -------------
    Total...............................................  ............  ............  ............           340
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Evaluation of Public Care Providers' Training, Screening, and 
Referral Practices for Pregnancy-Related Violence--New--National Center 
for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP). Two 
questionnaires have been designed to collect information for the 
project entitled: ``Evaluation of Public Care Providers' Training, 
Screening, and Referral Practices for Pregnancy-Related Violence.'' The 
purpose of the project is to develop and implement an evaluation to 
provide the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with the 
capacity to investigate the role of clinical guidelines in detecting 
and intervening in intimate violence in publicly-funded family planning 
settings. This evaluation will encompass: (1) the administrative level 
at which guidelines operate; (2) the contents of guidelines; (3) the 
format of guidelines; (4) the use of guidelines; and (5) barriers to 
the adoption of guidelines for programs that do not have any in place. 
The information gathered will be analyzed in conjunction with existing 
data from other sources. The information obtained from the evaluation 
will be used by CDC to develop recommendations for guidelines to 
address screening and referral practices and provider training. Healthy 
People 2000 calls for a reduction of physical, sexual and emotional 
abuse towards women, and for the use of protocols in emergency room 
settings to identify and treat victims of violence. As the nation's 
prevention agency, CDC has been charged with finding ways to prevent 
violence against women. Little is known about how widely guidelines 
have been instituted in publicly-funded family planning settings. This 
evaluation will provide the first clear understanding of the barriers 
to implementing and using appropriate protocols. The total cost to 
respondents participating in the evaluation is approximately $1,880.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     Number of      Avg. burden
                   Respondents                       Number of      responses/     per  response   Total  burden
                                                    respondents     respondent       (in hrs.)       (in hrs)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clinicians & Clinic Administrators..............           1200               1             .25             300
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nancy Cheal,
Acting Associate Director for Policy, Planning and Evaluation, Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
[FR Doc. 99-1431 Filed 1-21-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P