[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 26 (Thursday, February 7, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9054-9055]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-02742]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Respiratory 
Protection for Healthcare Workers: Stakeholder Meeting

AGENCY: The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 
(NIOSH) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 
(NIOSH) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 
announces the following public meeting: ``Stakeholder Meeting on 
Respiratory Protection for Healthcare Workers''.
    Stakeholder Meeting Time and Date: 8 a.m.-5:15 p.m. EDT, June 18, 
2013.
    Place: CDC Tom Harkin Global Communications Center located at 1600 
Clifton Road, Building 19, Atlanta, Georgia 30333. This meeting will 
also be available by videoconference at select CDC locations.
    Purpose of the Meeting: This meeting is being held to exchange 
ideas and solutions to improve healthcare worker compliance with 
personal protective technologies (PPT), with a focus on respiratory 
protection. Stakeholder feedback is sought to (1) provide input to 
future updates of the NIOSH PPT program research agenda and (2) assess 
progress toward better respirators for healthcare workers.
    This meeting will include presentations and moderated roundtable 
discussions on ``Improving the Evidence Base to Support Guidance on the 
Appropriate Level of Respiratory Protection'', ``Healthcare Worker 
Observational Studies of Respirator Use & New Educational Resources'', 
``Considerations for Extending Respirator Supplies During an Outbreak 
or Pandemic'', ``Standards & Test Methods for Improved Respirators for 
Healthcare Workers'', and ``Advances toward Improved Respirators for 
Healthcare Workers''.
    Status: The meeting is open to the public, limited only by the 
capacity (100) of the conference room. Registration will be accepted on 
a first come first served basis. Participants are encouraged to 
consider attending by video conference, which will be provided at 
select CDC locations (to be announced). Registration for both in person 
and video conference attendance is available on the NIOSH NPPTL Web 
site, www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl. Preregistration is required on or before 
May 31, 2013, even for remote attendees and US citizens. Non-US 
citizens need to register on or before May 18, 2013, to allow 
sufficient time for mandatory CDC facility security clearance 
procedures to be completed. An email confirming registration will be 
sent from NIOSH and will include details needed to participate. A 
government issued photo ID will be required to obtain entrance to any 
of the CDC locations.
    Background: The NIOSH PPT program publishes and periodically 
updates its research agenda on personal protective equipment (PPE) for 
healthcare workers (http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docket/archive/docket129.html). The research agenda, last updated in 2010, describes 
the near term and long term strategy for the PPT program's influenza 
pandemic research, development, and investigative testing activities. 
Recently, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) published a report (http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2011/Preventing-Transmission-of-Pandemic-Influenza-and-Other-Viral-Respiratory-Diseases.aspx) that assessed the nation's 
progress on improving PPE for healthcare personnel exposed to 
infectious respiratory diseases and made recommendations to address 
research gaps. Furthermore, a chapter in the recent HHS 2009 H1N1 
Influenza Improvement Plan (http://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/mcm/h1n1-retrospective/Documents/2009-h1n1-improvementplan.pdf) discusses 
research needs for respiratory protective devices as part of a broader 
non-vaccine medical countermeasures strategy. A key area of discussion 
at this stakeholder meeting will be progress on research gaps 
identified in the 2011 IOM and 2012 HHS reports and how NIOSH can use 
this information to update the 2010 PPT research agenda.
    The current version of PPT program research agenda for healthcare 
worker PPE focuses on conducting research to design and promote the 
appropriate use of PPE. Compliance with appropriate respirator use 
practices is important because healthcare workers often wear them 
incorrectly or fail to use them at all. Poor compliance has been linked 
to safety culture, workload issues, time constraints, risk perception, 
effectiveness concerns, availability, discomfort, interference with 
patient care, and communication difficulties. One strategy taken to 
improve healthcare worker compliance is to develop better respirators. 
In this

[[Page 9055]]

stakeholder meeting, progress toward better respirators for healthcare 
workers will be discussed.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Ronald E. Shaffer, Senior 
Scientist, NIOSH NPPTL Office of the Director at 
[email protected], telephone (412) 386-6111, fax (412) 386-
6617.

    Dated: January 29, 2013.
John Howard,
Director, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2013-02742 Filed 2-6-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-19-P