[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 4, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20400-20401]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-8089]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60-Day-12-0856]


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 404-639-7570 or 
send comments to Ron Otten, at 1600 Clifton Road, MS D-74, Atlanta, GA 
30333 or send an email 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 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 Quitline Data Warehouse (OMB No. 0920-0856, exp. 7/31/
2012)--Extension--National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and 
Health Promotion (NCCDPHP), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
(CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    Despite the high level of public knowledge about the adverse 
effects of smoking, tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause 
of disease and death in the United States. Tobacco use results in 
approximately 440,000 deaths annually, including approximately 38,000 
deaths from secondhand smoke exposure. Adults who smoke contribute to 
$92 billion annually in lost worker productivity, and die an average of 
14 years earlier than nonsmokers. Although the prevalence of current 
smoking among adults decreased significantly since its peak in the 
1960s, overall smoking prevalence among U.S. adults has remained 
virtually unchanged during the past five years. Large disparities in 
smoking prevalence continue to exist among members of racial/ethnic 
minority groups and individuals of low socioeconomic status.
    The National Tobacco Control Program (NTCP) was established by CDC 
to reduce tobacco use and tobacco-related disease, disability, and 
death. The NTCP's four goal areas are: (1) The prevention of initiation 
of tobacco use among young people, (2) the elimination of nonsmokers' 
exposure to secondhand smoke, (3) the promotion of quitting among 
adults and young people, and (4) the elimination of tobacco-related 
disparities. Essential elements of this approach include state, 
community, and health systems interventions and assessments of their 
impact; cessation services; media campaigns designed to educate the 
public about the harmful effects of tobacco; surveillance; and program 
evaluation. Many interventions are designed to serve individuals who 
are at highest risk for tobacco-related health problems due to 
disparities among demographic subgroups in the U.S. in their tobacco 
use.
    Quitlines are effective, population-based interventions that 
increase successful quitting. Quitlines provide telephone-based tobacco 
cessation services that help tobacco users quit through individualized, 
tailored counseling and self-help materials. Quitline counseling that 
includes counselor-initiated calls or proactive counseling has been 
shown to increase the odds of tobacco abstinence by approximately 60%. 
Tobacco cessation quitlines overcome many of the barriers to tobacco 
cessation classes and traditional clinics because they are free and 
available at the caller's convenience. They are also cost-effective 
because they offer multiple services centrally that may be unavailable 
locally. The demand for quitline services has increased over time. 
Unfortunately, quitlines remain under-funded and services are not 
available to everyone who seeks to access them. CDC estimates that 6 to 
8 percent of tobacco users could potentially be reached by quitlines, 
however--primarily due to lack of resources--only 1 to 2 percent of 
tobacco users are currently using quitlines.
    CDC has directly supported state quitlines since 2004, when CDC and 
the National Cancer Institute (NCI) created the National Network of 
Tobacco Cessation Quitlines Initiative to provide greater access to 
counseling for tobacco cessation. As part of the Initiative, NCI 
established a toll-free national portal number, 1-800-QUIT-NOW, which 
automatically transfers callers to their state quitline. Quitlines now 
exist in all U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. 
territories.
    In 2009, CDC used one-time American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 
(ARRA) funding to support expansion of quitline services and 
standardization of the client-level information collected in 
conjunction with those services. In 2010, CDC established the National 
Quitline Data Warehouse (NQDW) to compile national information about 
quitline services based on uniform caller intake and follow-up 
protocols (OMB No. 0920-0856, exp. 7/31/2012). The Minimum Data Set for 
this information collection was developed in collaboration with a 
number of stakeholders and tobacco control organizations, including the 
North American Quitline Consortium (NAQC). Information collected 
through the NQDW is being used to quantify and improve quitline 
services and to plan and assess the effectiveness of tobacco control 
programs, including the NTCP. This information collection is authorized 
by the Public Health Service Act.
    CDC requests OMB approval to continue information collection for

[[Page 20401]]

three years. During this period, a number of critical tobacco control 
activities will be implemented, such as the Department of Health and 
Human Service's first National Tobacco Education Campaign and a variety 
of state-based activities made possible by the Affordable Care Act 
(ACA) funds, including further quitline enhancements. The NQDW will 
provide essential information for monitoring and evaluating these 
efforts; improving understanding of quitline promotions and caller 
usage patterns; developing service benchmarks; increasing the number of 
tobacco users who quit each year; and aiding efforts to reduce 
mortality, morbidity, and health care costs related to tobacco use.
    The Intake Questionnaire will be administered to an estimated 
730,000 callers per year across all states, the District of Columbia, 
and participating U.S. territories. The estimated burden for completing 
the Intake Questionnaire interview is ten minutes for callers who seek 
personal counseling or services, and one minute for callers who seek 
information on behalf of someone else. A seven-month Follow-up 
Questionnaire will be administered to an average of 28,900 callers per 
year. The estimated burden per response is seven minutes.
    In addition, the Tobacco Control Manager for each state, district, 
or territory will be asked to complete a quarterly, web-based Quitline 
Services Questionnaire describing the services provided through their 
quitline. The estimated burden per response is seven minutes.
    All information will be collected electronically. 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    Total burden
                                                    respondents     respondent      (in hours)      (in hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Caller who contacts the         Intake                   230,000               1            1/60           3,833
 Quitline on behalf of someone   Questionnaire.
 else.
Caller who contacts the                                  500,000               1           10/60          83,333
 Quitline for personal use.
Quitline caller who received a  Follow-up                 28,900               1            7/60           3,372
 Quitline service.               Questionnaire.
Tobacco Control Manager.......  Quitline                      52               4            7/60              24
                                 Services
                                 Questionnaire.
    Total.....................  ................  ..............  ..............  ..............          90,562
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    Dated: March 29, 2012.
Ron A. Otten,
Director, Office of Scientific Integrity, Office of the Associate 
Director for Science (OADS), Office of the Director, Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2012-8089 Filed 4-3-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P