[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 15 (Friday, January 23, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3363-3364]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-1478]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[30Day-21-04]


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: Work Organization Predictors of Depression in 
Women--New--The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 
(NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background

    Depression is a costly and debilitating occupational health 
problem. Research has indicated that the costs to an organization of 
treatment for depression can rival those for heart disease, and both 
major depressive disorder and forms of minor depression have been found 
to be associated with more disability days than other types of health 
diagnoses. This may be of particular relevance for working women. 
Various national and international studies indicate that women in 
developed countries experience depression at up to twice the rate of 
men. Studies that have examined this gender difference have focused on 
social, personality, and genetic explanations while few have explored 
factors in the workplace that may contribute to the gender 
differential.
    Examples of workplace factors that may contribute to depression 
among women include: Additive workplace and home responsibilities, lack 
of control and authority, and low paying and low status jobs. 
Additionally, women are much more likely to face various types of 
discrimination in the workplace than men, ranging from harassment to 
inequalities in hiring and promotional opportunities, and these types 
of stressors have been strongly linked with psychological distress and 
other negative health outcomes. On the positive side, organizations 
that are judged by their employees to value diversity and employee 
development engender lower levels of employee stress, and those that 
enforce policies against discrimination have more committed employees. 
Such organizational practices and policies may be beneficial for 
employee mental

[[Page 3364]]

health, particularly the mental health of women. This research will 
focus on the following questions: (1) Which work organization factors 
are most predictive of depression in women, and (2) are there 
measurable work organization factors that confer protection against 
depression in women employees.
    The research will use repeated measures, and a prospective design 
with data collection at three points (baseline and 1-year and 2-year 
follow-ups). A 45 minute survey will be administered by telephone to 
2500 newly employed women and men at different organizations. The 
survey will contain questions about (1) traditional job stressors 
(e.g., changes in workload, social support, work roles); (2) stressors 
not traditionally examined, but may be linked with depressive symptoms 
among women (e.g., roles and responsibilities outside of the workplace, 
discrimination, career issues); (3) depression symptoms; and (4) 
company policies, programs, and practices. One Human Resource (HR) 
representative at each company will also be surveyed about company 
policies, programs and practices. This survey will take approximately 
20 minutes. Analyses will determine which work organization factors are 
linked with depressive symptoms and what effect the organizational 
practices/policies of interest have on depression. Findings from this 
prospective study will also help target future intervention efforts to 
reduce occupationally-related depression in women workers. This request 
is for three years. The estimated annualized burden for this data 
collection is 1,892 hours.

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                                                                                     Number of    Average burden
                           Respondents                               Number of     responses per   per response
                                                                    respondents     respondent      (in hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Worker Survey...................................................           2,500               3           45/60
HR Survey.......................................................              50               3           20/60
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    Dated: January 13, 2004.
Alvin Hall,
Director, Management Analysis and Services Office, Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 04-1478 Filed 1-22-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P