[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 199 (Friday, October 15, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61254-61255]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-23149]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[30Day-04-0636]


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 or send an e-mail 
to [email protected]. 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

    State-based Evaluation of the Alert Notification Component of CDC's 
Epidemic Information Exchange (Epi-X) Secure Public Health 
Communications Network (OMB No. 0920-0636)--Extension--Epidemiology 
Program Office (EPO), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
    Great attention has been focused on improving secure public health 
communications networks for the dissemination of critical disease 
outbreak and/or bioterrorism-related events, which may have multi-
jurisdictional involvement and cause disease and death within a short 
time-frame. A central component of the mission of the CDC's 
Epidemiology Program Office (EPO) is to strengthen the nation's public 
health infrastructure by coordinating public health surveillance at CDC 
and providing domestic and international support through scientific 
communications and terrorism preparedness and emergency response. The 
Office of Scientific and Health Communication's Epidemic Information 
Exchange (Epi-X) provides CDC and its state and local partners and 
collaborators with a secure public health communications network 
intended for routine and emergent information exchange in a secure 
environment.
    The purpose of the information gathered during this notification 
proficiency testing exercise is to evaluate the extent to which new 
registrants and currently authorized users of the Epidemic Information 
Exchange (Epi-X) are able to utilize alert notification functionality 
to minimize or prevent unnecessary injury or disease-related morbidity 
and mortality through the use of secure communications and rapid 
notification systems. In this case, notification alerts would be sent 
to targeted public health professionals through a ``barrage'' of office 
cell phone, home telephone, and pager calls to rapidly inform key 
health authorities from multidisciplinary backgrounds and multiple 
jurisdictions of evolving and critical public health information, and 
assist with the decision-making process. Presently, the necessity of 
this evaluation process is timely because of ongoing terrorism threats 
and acts perpetrated worldwide.
    The survey information will be gathered through an online 
questionnaire format. The survey will help evaluate user comprehension 
solely with the targeted notification and rapid alerting 
functionalities of Epi-X. The questionnaire will consist of both 
closed- and open-ended items and will be administered through 
Zoomerang, an online questionnaire program, or as a last resort, by 
telephone. Approximately 6,000 Epi-X users from every state of the 
union will be asked to volunteer input (in a 5-10 question format) 
about their experiences using the alert notification functionalities of 
the Epi-X communications system. The estimated annualized burden is 167 
hours.

[[Page 61255]]



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                                                                                                      Average
                                                                      No. of          No. of        burden per
                           Respondents                              respondents    responses per   response  (in
                                                                                    respondent         hrs)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
States..........................................................            1000               1           10/60
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    Dated: October 8, 2004.
Alvin Hall,
Director, Management Analysis and Services Office, Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 04-23149 Filed 10-14-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P