[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 96 (Friday, May 16, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28478-28479]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-10935]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60 Day-08-08BD]


Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and 
Recommendations

    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 Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC) will publish periodic summaries of proposed projects. 
To request more information on the proposed projects or to obtain a 
copy of the data collection plans and instruments, call 404-639-5960 
and send comments to Maryam I. Daneshvar, CDC Acting Reports Clearance 
Officer, 1600 Clifton Road, MS-D74, Atlanta, GA 30333 or send an e-mail 
to [email protected].
    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information; (c)

[[Page 28479]]

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of 
information on respondents, including through the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Written 
comments should be received within 60 days of this notice.

Proposed Project

    National Survey of HIV Testing in Hospitals--New--National Center 
for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP), Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    Early identification of HIV infection has significant benefits to 
the infected individual and society. In light of recent advancements in 
HIV testing and treatment, the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC) released its prevention initiative, Advancing HIV 
Prevention: New Strategies for a Changing Epidemic. A key component of 
this strategy focuses upon increased HIV testing in healthcare settings 
to increase the number of persons with HIV who are aware of their 
infection and are successfully referred to treatment and prevention 
services. In September 2006, CDC released revised recommendations for 
routine HIV testing of adults, adolescents, and pregnant women in 
healthcare settings as a measure to address the high number of 
individuals who are unaware of their HIV infection.
    Routine HIV testing programs in hospital settings, including 
emergency departments (EDs) and urgent care centers (UCCs), have great 
potential to identify a large number of previously undiagnosed 
individuals. Prior to the release of the revised recommendations, few 
such hospital-based testing programs had existed in the United States. 
CDC is committed to increasing the number of such programs in the U.S., 
and is currently working with partners to achieve these goals. This 
project proposes a survey to assess HIV testing policies and practices 
in hospitals nationwide and to describe the up-take of the revised HIV 
testing recommendations for hospital settings.
    The objectives of this project are: (1) To determine the extent to 
which HIV testing is being conducted in U.S. hospitals; (2) to describe 
the characteristics of hospitals with and without HIV testing programs; 
and (3) to identify barriers to and facilitators of implementing HIV 
testing programs in these settings. This data will assist CDC in 
monitoring the uptake of recommendations for HIV testing in healthcare 
settings.
    CDC is requesting approval for a 2-year clearance for data 
collection. This project will collect data from hospitals on a one-time 
voluntary basis using a brief survey. Surveys will be completed by the 
hospital administrators at each site who are most knowledgeable on HIV 
testing practices, infection control, and laboratory procedures for 
their site, in consultation with other hospital staff, as necessary. 
Collection of data will provide information on current HIV testing 
practices and policies for the hospital; use of point-of-care and 
conventional HIV tests; and barriers and facilitators of hospital-based 
HIV testing.
    Data will be requested from a representative sample of 4,927 U.S. 
community hospitals. Surveys will be sent to approximately 1,000 
hospital sites with an estimated 70% response rate, based upon 
estimates from response rates from prior similar surveys among U.S. 
hospitals. This will result in approximately 700 participating hospital 
sites, representing approximately 15% of U.S. community hospitals. The 
average duration of the survey, including time required to collect the 
requested data, is estimated to be 4 hours per hospital site. There is 
no cost to the participating hospitals other than their time.

                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                                                                      Average
                                                     Number of       Number of      burden  per    Total burden
                  Type of form                      respondents    responses per   response  in      in hours
                                                                    respondent         hours
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Hospital Survey.................................             700               1               4           2,800
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................  ..............  ..............  ..............           2,800
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    Dated: May 8, 2008.
Maryam I. Daneshvar,
Acting Reports Clearance Officer, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. E8-10935 Filed 5-15-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P