[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 148 (Friday, August 1, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45244-45245]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-19580]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60Day-03-102]


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)498-1210.
    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 or other 
forms of information technology. Send comments to Anne O'Connor, 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: Data Collection and Analysis to Determine the 
Reliability and Validity of Current and Proposed Oral Health Questions, 
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System--New--National Center for 
Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP), Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
    The National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health 
Promotion, Division of Oral Health, proposes to support data collection 
and analysis to determine the reliability and validity of current and 
proposed Oral Health questions for the Behavioral Risk Factor 
Surveillance System (BRFSS). At the request of the Association of State 
and Territorial Dental Directors (ASTDD), the Division of Oral Health 
(DOH) provided technical assistance in standardization of questions to 
monitor the oral health of adults. Three questions appeared on the 
BRFSS core in 1999, and were included again in 2002; They permit state 
dental programs to track progress toward Healthy People

[[Page 45245]]

(HP) objectives for adults (HP 2010: 21-3, 21-4, 21-10), to monitor 
reported use of a key preventive service for adults (teeth cleaning), 
and to examine the relationship of oral health indicators to general 
health status, conditions, and behaviors.
    As more state dental programs consider the oral health of adults, 
states have requested that a bank of additional standardized questions 
be created to monitor other oral health indicators. CDC/DOH has been 
reluctant to provide additional technical assistance, without firm data 
on the reliability and validity of questions. Because all BRFSS 
questions require self-report by respondents about their own oral 
health status or behaviors, recall bias and errors in perception exist. 
To accomplish estimates of response error, answers to existing and 
proposed BRFSS questions (limit = 10 content questions, plus 7 
demographic questions) must be compared to the ``True'' situation of 
that individual, i.e., that is found in patient charts or other 
clinical records.
    The proposed data collection and analysis will be conducted through 
the Alliance of Community Health Plans by research foundations 
affiliated with two dental plans, Kaiser Permanente Northwest, 
Portland, OR and Health Partners, Minneapolis, MN. The proposed 
telephone survey, similar to BRFSS, of a convenience sample of 400 
dental plan members (200 from each respective HMO) would occur only 
once. Neither published studies nor informal discussions with dental 
researchers regarding work in progress uncovered any information that 
would eliminate the need for this data collection. All work on this 
project, including linkages between health plan records and responses 
to the BRFSS questions, will be conducted at the research foundations 
associated with the respective health plans. CDC will receive only a 
report on the validity of the questions, and will not have access to 
the database constructed for the contract.
    Study findings will allow CDC to respond to state requests for 
inclusion of additional standardized questions in an optional oral 
health module for BRFSS and ensure that any such questions are 
reliable, valid, and useful for state program planning and evaluation. 
There is no cost to respondents.

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                                                                     Number of    Average burden/
             Health plan respondents                 Number of      responses/     response  (in   Total burden
                                                    respondents     respondent        hours)        (in hours)
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Kaiser Northwest................................             200               1           15/60              50
Health Partners.................................             200               1           15/60              50
                                                 -----------------
    Total.......................................  ..............  ..............  ..............             100
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    Dated: July 28, 2002.
Thomas A. Bartenfeld,
Acting Associate Director for Policy, Planning and Evaluation, Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 03-19580 Filed 7-31-03; 8:45 am]
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