[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 68 (Friday, April 9, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17384-17386]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-8725]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control And Prevention
[INFO-99-14]


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, the Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention is providing opportunity for public comment on proposed 
data collection 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

    1. An Evaluation Study of Tuberculosis Control and Prevention 
Measures Implemented in Large City and County Jails--New--The Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for HIV, STD, 
TB Prevention (NCHSTP), Division of TB Elimination, Field Services 
proposes to conduct a survey to determine the extent that jails have 
implemented the 1996 recommendations of the Advisory Council for the 
Elimination of Tuberculosis, Prevention and Control of Tuberculosis in 
Correctional Facilities [MMWR 1996:45 (No. RR-8)]. The purpose of this 
evaluation is to determine to what extent the recommendations have been 
implemented and to identify barriers for implementation of the 
recommendations. The objectives are to define the knowledge of the 
recommendations among correctional staff, to identify barriers for the 
adoption and implementation of the recommendations, and to initiate a 
dialogue between public health and correctional officials on how to 
utilize the study results for improving TB control and prevention in 
the jails.
    This project will assess the types and adequacy of the TB control 
measures that are in place in jails. The first component of this 
project is a survey of the largest jails to define the size of the TB 
problem in their populations, to review the infection control 
procedures that are in place, and determine the tracking mechanisms for 
information concerning skin test results and completion of therapy. The 
second component consists of on-site observation of the infection 
control process to observe the processing and evaluation of inmates and 
the infection control infrastructure (e.g., isolation procedures).
    The evaluation project will be voluntary and only correctional 
staff will participate; no prisoners will be interviewed or asked to 
complete a written survey. The total cost to respondents is $0.00.

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                                                                                     Hours per
                   Respondents                       Number of     Responses per   response (in    Total burden
                                                    respondents     respondent         hrs.)           hours
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Mail survey including initial contact...........              50               1               2             100
Site visits.....................................              10               1              12             120
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    Total.......................................  ..............  ..............  ..............             220
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    2. Gene-Environment Interactions in Beryllium Sensitization and 
Disease Among Current and Former Beryllium Industry Workers--NEW 
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Beryllium 
is a light weight metal with wide application in modern technology. The 
size of the USA workforce at risk of beryllium exposure is estimated at 
approximately 30,000, with exposed workers in primary production, 
nuclear power and weapons, aerospace, scrap metal reclaiming, specialty 
ceramics, and electronics industries. Demand for beryllium is growing 
worldwide, which means that increasing numbers of workers are likely to 
be exposed. An acute pneumonitis due to occupational exposure to 
beryllium was common in the 1940s and 1950s, but has virtually 
disappeared with improvements in work-site control measures. Even with 
the improved controls, as many as 5% of currently-exposed workers will 
develop chronic beryllium disease (CBD).
    CBD is a chronic granulomatous lung disease mediated through a 
poorly understood immunologic mechanism in workers who become 
sensitized. Sensitization can be detected using a blood test, that is 
used by the industry as a screening tool. The screening test for 
sensitization was first reported in 1989, but many questions remain 
about the natural history of sensitization and disease, as well as 
exposure risk factors. Sensitized workers, identified through workplace 
screening programs, undergo clinical diagnostic tests to determine 
whether they have CBD. The proportion of sensitized workers who have 
beryllium disease at initial clinical evaluation has varied from 41-
100% in different workplaces. Sensitized workers often develop CBD with 
follow-up, but whether all sensitized workers will eventually develop 
beryllium disease is unknown. Early diagnosis at the subclinical stage 
and careful follow-up seems prudent in that CBD usually responds to 
corticosteroid treatment. However, the efficacy of screening in

[[Page 17385]]

preventing adverse outcomes of the disease has not yet been evaluated. 
While recent research has suggested that a genetic determinant of the 
immune response could be a susceptibility factor, this has not been 
well characterized.
    The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) 
wants to determine how beryllium workers and former workers develop 
beryllium disease and how to prevent it. Through the proposed study, 
NIOSH has the opportunity to contribute to the scientific understanding 
of this disease in the context of environmental and genetic etiologic 
factors. The goals of this investigation are to: (1) Determine the 
incidence of beryllium sensitization or disease over a 6-year period; 
(2) seek an association with exposure measurements; (3) identify a 
genetic determinant of susceptibility to CBD; and (4) characterize that 
genetic determinant to ascertain if it is associated with clinical 
impairment or progression of disease. Through a greater understanding 
of the environmental and genetic risk factors associated with the onset 
and progression of CBD, NIOSH will be able to develop strategies for 
both primary and secondary prevention applicable to beryllium-exposed 
workers. The total cost to respondents is $0.00.

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                                                                                   Hours per
                 Respondents                     Number of      Responses per    response  (in     Total burden
                                                respondents       respondent         hrs.)            hours
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Former Workers..............................             175                1              0.5             87.5
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    3. Health Message Development and Pretesting System--NEW--Office of 
the Director, Office of Communications (OC). The Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention (CDC) is the federal government's principal 
agency for research on preventable causes of death and disease, 
including dissemination of information for the prevention and control 
of certain diseases and injuries. The CDC provides communication 
between the agency and a variety of audiences, including Congress, 
other executive agencies, state and local governments, scientific and 
medical communities and institutions, academic institutions, voluntary 
organizations, the press, the general public, and members of the public 
diagnosed with certain diseases. Because CDC is mandated to communicate 
with these audiences about disease prevention and control, and because 
CDC programs are based on solid science, a science-based data 
collection system for developing and pretesting audience messages is 
necessary. Special circumstance surround the timeliness of this data 
collection system.
    First of all, CDC receives mandates from Congress to provide the 
public with certain health information within a specified time frame. 
Secondly, CDC may need to act quickly in response to media interest in 
specific health-related subjects. The media can quickly escalate health 
issues in the public's mind and indeed, they often drive communication 
efforts on health issues that are acute, controversial, or threatening. 
In these situations, CDC will need to quickly conduct research to learn 
the best way to counteract misinformation or reinforce correct 
information through a health communication campaign. Thirdly, CDC 
prevention and control recommendations are often part of consensus 
conferences with multiple sister agencies and private and public sector 
partners. Because we need to translate the scientific messages that may 
be released from a consensus conference or alliance meeting, CDC is 
often in need of fast and effective ways of testing these message 
translations for the public and the media on a very short timeline. 
Finally, many CDC programs are working with private or public sector 
partners who can provide paid placement for CDC messages. CDC needs an 
empirically-driven system of comparing messages across audience groups 
and across disease problems to assist partners with selecting the most 
effective messages for partnerships. Partners look to CDC to provide 
this leadership in communication science and research. This means that 
CDC needs a database system that can house the aggregate data from all 
message pretesting and allow researchers to compare messages to each 
other and to standardized effectiveness scores.
    It is critical to CDC's mission and mandates to provide credible 
and effective messages to the many audiences we serve. Formative 
evaluation provides CDC with the most accepted and powerful tool 
available to make health messages as useful as possible for the 
audiences we serve. Without formative evaluation, CDC staff and experts 
will be unable to empirically predict the effectiveness of health 
materials and messages, and CDC would not be able to predict when 
messages are insensitive, offensive, or create unintended negative 
effects.
    CDC needs a system that can not only test program messages using an 
empirical and accepted methodology, but also provides access to a 
system that is fast and effective at reaching a wide variety of 
audiences and provides comparison data for decision-making. The 
proposed system will allow CDC to provide audiences with the best 
scientific health information, in ways that are relevant to the 
audience, based on empirical communication research, and in a timely 
fashion.
    This OMB submission is for message development and pretesting 
research of 130 messages per year for each of three years. The testing 
system will provide message development and pretesting research for 15 
Centers, Institutes and Offices at CDC and across a wide range of 
program areas.
    Response burden for each type of formative research method are 
summarized below. The estimated annual total burden hours are 6,945 
across 130 different studies (CDC-wide). The total cost to respondents 
is $0.00.

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                                     Number of
                                      studies        Number of     Response per      Hours per     Total burden
    Formative research method        conducted      respondents     respondent     response  (in       hours
                                    across CDC       per study                         hrs.)
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Focus Groups \1\................              59              48               1             1.5           4,248
Central Location Intercept                    22             125               1            0.25             687
 Interviews \2\.................
In-depth Interviews.............              34              15               1             1.0             510
Omnibus Surveys \3\.............              15           1,000               1             .10           1,500
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[[Page 17386]]

 
    Total.......................             130           1,188  ..............  ..............           6,945
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\1\ Based on the average number of 6 focus groups conducted by CDC and other organizations for each specific
  health program with 8 people per group.
\2\ Based on the industry average of 125 people per pretest session.
\3\ Based on the industry average of 1,000 people per omnibus poll and 6 minutes of telephone interview time.

    Dated: April 2, 1999.
Nancy Cheal,
Acting Associate Director for Policy, Planning, and Evaluation, Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
[FR Doc. 99-8725 Filed 4-8-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P