[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 18 (Friday, January 27, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4595-4596]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-1020]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Proposed Collection; Comment Request--National Network of Tobacco 
Cessation Quitlines Evaluation

SUMMARY: 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 National Cancer Institute 
(NCI), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will publish periodic 
summaries of proposed projects to be submitted to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval.

Proposed Collection

    Title: Evaluation of the HHS National Network of Tobacco Cessation 
Quitlines Initiative.
    Type of Information Collection Request: New.
    Need and Use of Information Collection: In February 2004, the U.S. 
Department of Health and Human Services announced plans for a national 
network of tobacco cessation quitlines to provide all smokers in the 
United States access to the support and latest information to help them 
quit. To provide the highest level of assistance to smokers across the 
country who want to quit, NCI established a new toll-free telephone 
number (1-800-QUIT-NOW) on November 8, 2004. The aim of the National 
Network of Tobacco Cessation Quitlines (NNTCQ) initiative (the 
Initiative) is to strengthen service delivery; provide a mechanism for 
integration and implementation of state, regional, and national 
campaigns; and increase healthcare utilization by minority and 
medically underserved populations. NCI, CDC, and other state, private 
industry, and partner organizations (the North American Quitline 
Consortium) have created the infrastructure and a coordinated mechanism 
to offer cessation services to the American public. The Initiative 
seeks to enhance existing state-managed quitlines and to encourage the 
establishment of quitlines in states without them. It is expected that 
successful implementation of the Initiative will foster partnerships 
across state quitlines for technology transfer, sharing of effective 
practices, and understanding patterns of use and reach to special 
populations, thereby ensuring a sustained level of effectiveness over 
time. The goal of this evaluation is to monitor the implementation of 
the Initiative, assess its impact on key stakeholders, and examine its 
implications for public health. To that end, this study will conduct a 
series of in-depth key informant telephone interviews and selected site 
visits with state tobacco control officers, quitline administrators and 
counseling staff. Representatives of organizations and individuals that 
partner with quitlines, such as community health organizations or 
health care providers, will also be interviewed. In addition, 
interviews will be conducted with Federal agency staff involved with 
the development and implementation of the Initiative. The findings will 
provide valuable information concerning the development and 
implementation of the NNTQC initiative as a potential model for 
Federal-State partnerships, the impact on building and enhancing state 
quitline capacity, and implications for the state tobacco control 
community.
    The annual reporting burden is presented in exhibit 1, below.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Affected Public: State agencies, businesses or other for-profit, 
non-profit associations. Type of Respondents: Federal and state 
employees, health services providers, administrators and researchers. 
The annual reporting burden is as follows:
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 266;

[[Page 4596]]

    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 1;
    Average Burden Hours Per Response: .9624; and
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours Requested: 256.
    There is no annualized cost to respondents. There are no Capital 
Costs to report. There are no Operating or Maintenance Costs to report.

                                                    Exhibit 1
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                                                          Estimated number    Average burden    Estimated total
         Type of respondents           Estimated number   of responses per      hours per        annual burden
                                        of respondents       respondent          response       hours requested
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interviews with State tobacco                       125                  1                  1                125
 control officers, quitline
 administrators, cessation
 counseling staff...................
Interviews with State partners......                100                  1                 .5                 50
Site visits to State tobacco control                 20                  1                1.5                 30
 staff..............................
Interviews with North American                        6                  1                  1                  6
 Quitline Consortium staff..........
Interviews with Federal Staff.......                 15                  2                1.5                 45
                                     --------------------
    Total...........................                266  .................  .................                256
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    Request for Comments: Written comments and/or suggestions from the 
public and affected agencies are invited on one or more of the 
following points: (1) Whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the function of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) The 
accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed 
collection of information, including the validity of the methodology 
and assumptions used; (3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 
clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) Ways to minimize 
the burden of the collection of information on those who are to 
respond, including the use of appropriate automated, electronic, 
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms 
of information technology.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on the 
proposed project or to obtain a copy of the data collection plans and 
instruments, contact Candace Deaton, M.P.A., Project Officer, National 
Cancer Institute, Cancer Information Service, 6116 Executive Blvd., 
Rockville, MD 20892 or call non-toll-free number (301) 594-9072 or e-
mail your request, including your address to: [email protected].
    Comments Due Date: Comments regarding this information collection 
are best assured of having their full effect if received within 60-days 
of the date of this publication.

    Dated: January 19, 2006.
Rachelle Ragland-Greene,
NCI Project Clearance Liaison, National Institutes of Health.
 [FR Doc. E6-1020 Filed 1-26-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4101-01-P