[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 35 (Wednesday, February 22, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9135-9136]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-2507]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Proposed Collection; Comment Request; NCCAM Customer Service Data 
Collection

    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 
Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), at 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: NCCAM Customer Service Data Collection. 
Type of Information Collection Request: Renewal. Need and Use of 
Information Collection: NCCAM provides the public, patients, families, 
health care providers, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) 
practitioners, and others with the latest scientifically based 
information on CAM and information about NCCAM's programs through a 
variety of channels, including its toll-free telephone information 
service and its quarterly newsletter. To ensure that NCCAM is 
effectively serving all audiences, NCCAM needs to continue to measure 
customer satisfaction with NCCAM telephone interactions and the NCCAM 
newsletter and to assess which audiences are being reached through 
these channels. This effort involves a telephone survey consisting of 
10 questions, which are asked of 25 percent of all callers, for an 
annual total of approximately 1,210 respondents; a print newsletter 
survey consisting of 10 questions, which is sent to all print 
newsletter subscribers, for an annual total of approximately 339 
respondents; and an online newsletter survey consisting of 14 
questions, which all visitors to the newsletter page on the NCCAM Web 
site have the option of completing until an annual total of 500 
responses are received. NCCAM uses the data collected from the surveys 
to characterize NCCAM users and help program staff measure user 
satisfaction, assess impact of their communication efforts, tailor 
services to the public and health care providers, measure service use 
among special populations, and assess the most effective media and 
messages to reach these audiences. Frequency of Response: Once for the 
telephone survey, and three times for the newsletter survey (once every 
year to measure any changes in customer satisfaction and/or audience 
profile). Affected Public: Individuals and households. Type of 
Respondents: For the telephone survey, patients, spouses/family/friends 
of patients, health care providers, physicians, CAM practitioners, or 
other individuals contacting the NCCAM Clearinghouse; for the print 
newsletter survey, subscribers to the print NCCAM newsletter; and for 
the online newsletter survey, visitors to the newsletter page on 
NCCAM's Web site.
    The annual reporting burden is as follows.

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                                                                     Estimated                       Estimated
                                                     Estimated       number of        Average      total annual
               Type of respondents                   number of     responses per   burden hours    burden hours
                                                    respondents     respondent     per response      requested
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Telephone survey:
    Individuals or households...................           1,210               1           0.075              91
Newsletter survey (print):
    Individuals or households...................             339               1           0.050              17
Newsletter survey (online):
    Individuals or households...................             500               1           0.050              25
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
        Annualized totals.......................           2,049  ..............  ..............             133
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    The annualized cost to respondents is estimated at $1,770 for the 
telephone survey, $507 for the print newsletter survey, and $714 for 
the online newsletter survey. There are no Capital Costs to report. 
There are no Operating or Maintenance Costs to report.
    Request for Comments: Written comments and/or suggestions from the 
public and affected agencies are invited on the following points: (1) 
Whether the

[[Page 9136]]

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; 
(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 Christy Thomsen, Director, Office of 
Communications and Public Liaison, NCCAM, 31 Center Drive, Room 2B11, 
Bethesda, MD 20892-2182; or fax your request to 301-402-4741; or e-mail 
[email protected]. Ms. Thomsen can be contacted by telephone at 
301-451-8876.
    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: February 14, 2006.
Christy Thomsen,
Director, Office of Communications and Public Liaison, National Center 
for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, National Institutes of 
Health.
 [FR Doc. E6-2507 Filed 2-21-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4167-01-P