[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 87 (Friday, May 5, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26541-26542]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-6800]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[30Day-06-05CY]


Agency Forms Undergoing Paperwork Reduction Act Review

    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) 639-5960 or send an e-mail 
to [email protected]. Send written comments to CDC Desk Officer, Office of 
Management and Budget, Washington, DC or by fax to (202) 395-6974. 
Written comments should be received within 30 days of this notice.

Proposed Project

    Survey of Illness and Injury Among Backcountry Users in Yellowstone 
National Park--New--National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID), 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    There are few data on the risk factors for illness and injury among 
persons who travel into the backcountry in the United States. The 
backcountry encompasses primitive or wilderness areas that lack most 
facilities and services and that are reached primarily by hiking, 
boating, or horseback. In general, backcountry users must bring in 
their own supplies (such as shelter, food, water, or water treatment 
supplies). As many as 68% to 82% of long-distance hikers and 
backpackers have reported experiencing illnesses or injuries during 
their time in the backcountry. For example, 4% to 56% have reported 
gastrointestinal illness and 41% to 62% have reported musculoskeletal 
injuries.
    Such a high burden of disease has significant medical and economic 
implications given the increasing popularity of backcountry use. In 
1994-95, almost 8% of Americans age 16 years and older (about 15 
million persons) went backpacking in the previous 12 months, which 
involved camping for one or more nights along a trail and carrying 
food, shelter, and utensils with them. In the same period of time, 
about 14% (or 28 million persons) camped in primitive settings that 
usually lacked restrooms, hookups, and most facilities and services. In 
fact, camping in backcountry areas grew by about 72% from 1982-83 to 
1994-95. While people can travel in the backcountry in many locations 
and on both private and public lands, many travelers hike, backpack, 
and camp in the backcountry in national parks. In 2003, there were over 
266 million recreational visits to national parks with over 1.8 million 
overnight stays in the backcountry. Yellowstone National Park alone had 
almost 19,690 persons visit the backcountry in 2003, accounting for 
over 46,000 overnight stays.
    Because little is known about the health outcomes for visitors who 
use the backcountry areas of our nation's parks, advice to park 
managers and the public is currently general in nature, based only on 
standard disease prevention principles. Furthermore, some outdoor use 
groups have recently questioned some of this standard advice, such as 
the universal need for careful filtration and disinfection of 
backcountry drinking water. This study will investigate behavioral and 
environmental risk factors that may be associated with illness and 
injury among persons who require park permits to travel into 
backcountry areas in Yellowstone National Park during the backcountry 
season from May 1-Oct. 31, 2006. The data collected will be used to 
provide an estimate of the burden of illness and injury among 
backcountry users and will also provide information about a variety of 
risk factors for illness and injury in the backcountry, including the 
risks associated with drinking untreated water from lakes and streams. 
With this information, the National Park Service (NPS) will be able to 
address many of the questions raised by outdoor users and public health 
officials, and improve and strengthen evidence-based NPS guidelines for 
backcountry health and sanitation practices. To gather this 
information, consent to contact after the conclusion of the backcountry 
trip will be requested from an estimated 12,906 backcountry users when 
they present to the Yellowstone National Park's permit offices prior to 
entering the backcountry. Approximately 10,325 of these backcountry 
users will be adults who are eligible to participate in the survey. A 
questionnaire (in either Internet-based or paper-based format) will 
then be offered to an estimated 5,276 adult backcountry users who 
consent to be contacted. Participants will be asked about their health 
(before, during and after backcountry travel), water consumption, water 
preparation habits, food consumption, food preparation habits, 
sanitation practices, recreational water use, animal exposure, and 
demographics.
    This study is the beginning of what will be an on-going effort to 
improve the science-basis of the NPS recommendations and policies 
related to protecting human health in the backcountry. This effort 
seeks to begin to identify disease transmission pathways and assess 
disease and injury risks associated with specific activities, choices, 
and behaviors of backcountry visitors, such as water purification, 
sanitation practices, and hygiene. Thoroughly understanding 
transmission pathways and the interactions of agent, environment, and 
host will enable the NPS to effectively and efficiently improve visitor 
protection efforts. There will be no cost to respondents. Participation 
is voluntary and will not affect the application process for the 
backcountry use permit. The total estimated annualized hours requested 
are 1,803.

[[Page 26542]]



                                           Estimated Annualized Burden
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                                                                                                      Average
                                                                     Number of       Number of      burden per
                            Form name                               respondents    responses per   response  (in
                                                                                    respondent        hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Consent to Further Contact......................................          12,906               1            2/60
Web-Based Questionnaire.........................................           4,951               1           15/60
Paper-Based Questionnaire.......................................             325               1           25/60
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    Dated: May 1, 2006.
Joan F. Karr,
Acting Reports Clearance Officer, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. E6-6800 Filed 5-4-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P