[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 181 (Thursday, September 18, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Page 54732]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-23825]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[30Day-69-03]


Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and 
Recommendations

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publishes a 
list of information collection requests under review by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). To request a copy of these requests, call 
the CDC Reports Clearance Officer at (404) 498-1210. Send written 
comments to CDC, Desk Officer, Human Resources and Housing Branch, New 
Executive Office Building, Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503 or by fax 
to (202) 395-6974. Written comments should be received within 30 days 
of this notice.
    Proposed Project: Health and Safety Outcomes Related to Work 
Schedules in Nurses--NEW--The National Institute for Occupational 
Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
(CDC). The mission of the National Institute for Occupational Safety 
and Health is to promote safety and health at work for all people 
through research and prevention.
    In the United States, approximately 1.1 million registered nurses 
work shift schedules to provide essential nursing services that are 
required around the clock. A recent U.S. government report indicates 
that the average nurse works more than 40 hours per week. Both shift 
work and overtime have been independently associated with increased 
health and safety risks. Little is known about the combined influence 
of shift work and overtime. In addition, most previous shift work 
studies of nurses have used young participants. However, the age of the 
average working U.S. registered nurse is now 43.3 years and has been 
increasing over the past 20 years. This aging workforce will be more 
vulnerable to the adverse health and safety risks associated with shift 
work and overtime. This study will examine the combined influence of 
shift work and overtime on health and safety in the current registered 
nurse workforce. The study will provide data for work schedule design 
recommendations. Potential secondary benefits to society will be 
improved patient outcomes.
    Specific Aim 1. Examine if certain characteristics of shift work 
schedules, such as shift length (i.e. 12-hour, 8-hour shifts), night 
work, and rotating work schedules are associated with increased health 
and safety risks.
    Specific Aim 2. Examine how shift work and overtime interact to 
influence health and safety risks.
    Specific Aim 3. Examine if disturbances of sleep, family life, and 
social life mediate effects of work schedules on health and safety.
    The study is based on the theoretical model by Barton et al. (1995) 
who propose that shift work exerts a negative effect on health and 
safety outcomes by disturbing sleep, family life, and social life. The 
study will use a cross-sectional design to survey 1,000 registered 
nurses who will be randomly selected from 10 large hospitals. 
Participants will be asked to complete a survey, complete a 7-day 
sleep/activity diary, provide one set of blood pressure readings, and 
provide a copy of their work schedule from their hospital records for 
the previous 3-month period.
    The survey includes items for personal characteristics such as age 
and weight; health history; lifestyle factors such as smoking and 
alcohol use; sleep characteristics and problems; factors at work and 
other responsibilities such as child care; work schedule factors; 
musculoskeletal discomfort; gastrointestinal and cardiovascular 
symptoms; mood; automobile crashes and near misses; needlestick 
injuries; and job satisfaction. The study will compute a list of work 
characteristics based on the actual work start and end times. 
Statistical modeling will be used to examine characteristics of work 
schedules associated with increased risk while controlling for 
demographic, health history, lifestyle, and work-related risk factors. 
A base model will be developed with significant control variables for 
each outcome. Work schedule variables will then be added to the base 
model to test for significant relationships while controlling for co-
variants. The annualized burden for this data collection is 1,667 
hours.

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                                                                                     Number of     Avg. burden/
                            Form name                                Number of      responses/     response (in
                                                                    respondents     respondent        hours)
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3 month overtime diary..........................................            1000               6            5/60
7-day sleep/activity diary......................................            1000               7            5/60
Survey..........................................................            1000               1           35/60
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    Dated: August 25, 2003.
Nancy Cheal,
Acting Associate Director for Policy, Planning, and Evaluation, Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 03-23825 Filed 9-17-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-M