[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 194 (Thursday, October 6, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62068-62070]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-25753]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60Day-11-11KS]


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 or 
send comments to Daniel Holcomb, CDC Reports Clearance Officer, 1600 
Clifton Road, MS D-74, 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) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be

[[Page 62069]]

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

    Community-Based Surveillance of Supports for Healthy Eating and 
Active Living--New--National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and 
Health Promotion (NCCDPHP), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
(CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    There is growing consensus among experts that the environment plays 
a critical role in promoting or discouraging healthy choices and 
behaviors. For example, consumption of a healthful diet may be 
constrained by lack of access to fresh foods, and physical activity, 
particularly as it relates to active forms of transportation, such as 
walking and bicycling, may be limited by poor street design or concerns 
about safety. Policies implemented by municipalities can change local 
environments to support residents' decisions to consume healthful diets 
and be physically active.
    CDC has identified 24 strategies that local communities can 
implement to encourage healthy eating and active living, as well as 
indicators for monitoring community-level progress in implementing 
these strategies. However, at this time, there is no systematic 
national information collection about community-level policies related 
to healthy eating and active living, or how these policies are changing 
over time. Although some public health surveillance systems measure 
health and behavioral factors at the individual level, these systems 
are insufficient to address broader contextual factors, such as 
community-level supports and policies related to nutrition and physical 
activity.
    To address this gap in information, CDC proposes to conduct a pilot 
study to examine the feasibility of establishing a national community-
level surveillance system on policy supports for healthful eating and 
active living. The pilot study will be conducted in two states with a 
sample of 400 communities, 200 in each state. Respondents will be local 
governments from a representative sample of municipalities in each 
state. The sample frame will be generated from the U.S. Census of 
Governments.
    The proposed pilot study is designed to address three key 
methodological objectives. The first objective is to test the 
feasibility of the proposed sampling frame and to answer sample design 
issues related to determining sampling criteria for inclusion, as well 
as the development of weights and estimates.
    The second objective is to identify and critically evaluate whether 
respondents in diverse municipalities of various sizes and 
organizational structures are able to answer a self-administered survey 
questionnaire. The survey questionnaire includes 42 items on the 
following topics: Community-wide planning efforts for healthy eating 
and active living, the built environment and policies that support 
physical activity, and policies and practices that support access to 
healthy food and healthy eating. The estimated burden per response is 
one hour. Issues to be addressed include critical assessment of the 
strengths and weaknesses of methods for identifying the best 
respondents for completing the survey questionnaire; conducting a 
limited process evaluation that identifies the barriers and challenges 
respondents may incur in providing reasonable and current data for the 
questionnaire; and arriving at a data collection instrument with the 
lowest possible threshold for respondent burden.
    The third objective is to identify and critically evaluate 
different methods of study recruitment and non-response follow-up. A 
split-sample approach will be used to assign each target respondent to 
one of two groups: A low-intensity recruitment group or a moderate-
intensity recruitment group. All target respondents in the study sample 
will receive e-mail reminders to encourage participation in the survey. 
Target respondents in the moderate-intensity recruitment group will 
also receive up to three telephone contacts to address questions. These 
follow-up contacts will serve as additional reminders. The estimated 
burden per telephone contact is five minutes.
    Results of the methodological component of the feasibility study 
will be used to assess the feasibility of establishing a national 
surveillance system and the best methods for encouraging a high 
response rate in a representative sample of communities.
    The overall goal is to establish a surveillance system that will be 
useful to local, state, and federal public health programs that promote 
healthful eating and physical activity. Information to be collected 
through surveillance will help these groups identify areas for 
community-level interventions, track the progress of communities in 
changing policy and environmental supports, and evaluate interventions 
that address the obesity epidemic through changing diet and physical 
activity.
    Target respondents will be city/town planners and managers, or 
individuals with similar responsibilities. The majority of survey 
responses will be collected using a secure, web-based survey data 
collection system. A paper version of the survey will also be 
available. OMB approval is requested for one year. Participation is 
voluntary and there are no costs to respondents other than their time.

                                                            Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                                                                                        Number of      Average burden
              Type of respondent                            Form name                 Number of       responses per   per response (in    Total burden
                                                                                     respondents       respondent            hr)             (in hr)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
City/Town Manager-Planner.....................  Survey Questionnaire............               400                 1                 1               400
                                                Telephone Follow-up for Non-                   200                 3              5/60                50
                                                 Responders.
                                               ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.....................................  ................................  ................  ................  ................               450
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[[Page 62070]]

    Dated: September 29, 2011.
Daniel Holcomb,
Reports Clearance Officer, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2011-25753 Filed 10-5-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P