[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 154 (Friday, August 9, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Page 48683]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-19273]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[CDC-2013-0016; NIOSH 129-A]


National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) 
Personal Protective Technology (PPT) Program; Framework Document for 
the Healthcare Worker Personal Protective Equipment Action Plan

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 draft document for public comment.

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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 availability of a document titled ``Framework for Setting 
the NIOSH PPT Program Action Plan for Healthcare Worker Personal 
Protective Equipment: 2013-2018'', now available for public comment at 
http://www.regulations.gov.

DATES: Public comment period: Comments must be received by Friday, 
September 13, 2013.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by CDC-2013-0016 and 
Docket Number NIOSH-129-A, by either of the two following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: NIOSH Docket Office, Robert A. Taft Laboratories, 
MS-C34, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, Ohio 45226.
    Instructions: All information received in response to this notice 
must include the agency name and docket number (CDC-2013-0016; NIOSH-
129-A). All relevant comments received will be posted without change to 
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided. All electronic comments should be formatted as Microsoft 
Word. Please make reference to CDC-2013-0016 and Docket Number NIOSH-
129-A. Access to any prior background documents or previous comments 
received please go to NIOSH Docket 129 (http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docket/archive/docket129.html).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NIOSH personal protective technology 
(PPT) program publishes and periodically updates its research agenda on 
personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers. The 
research agenda or action plan describes the near term and long term 
strategy for the PPT program's research and intervention, standards 
development, and information dissemination program to improve the 
efficacy and effectiveness of PPE used in healthcare settings. Since 
the healthcare worker PPE action plan was last updated in 2010 
(revision 4), several reports have been published that provide updated 
national priorities related to PPE for healthcare workers. For example, 
in 2011, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) published a report entitled 
Preventing Transmission of Pandemic Influenza and Other Viral 
Respiratory Diseases: Personal Protective Equipment for Healthcare 
Personnel Update 2010 that assessed the nation's progress on improving 
PPE for healthcare personnel exposed to infectious respiratory diseases 
and made recommendations to address research gaps (to access this 
document please go to http://www.regulations.gov).
    The NIOSH PPT program has started the process to update the PPE for 
healthcare workers action plan for 2013-2018. A framework document 
titled ``Framework for Setting the NIOSH PPT Program Action Plan for 
Healthcare Worker Personal Protective Equipment: 2013-2018'' has been 
drafted to:
    1. Identify proposed ``recommendations'' and ``activities'' to use 
in an updated healthcare worker PPE action plan;
    2. Compare current NIOSH intramural and extramural program 
activities versus the proposed recommendations and activities;
    3. Propose an overarching strategy for NIOSH PPT program management 
to prioritize among competing recommendations, activities, and future 
action steps; and
    4. Outline the process planned for seeking stakeholder input on 
what ``action steps'' should be taken by NIOSH and the NIOSH PPT 
program to address the recommendations.
    Comments are sought in three specific areas:
    1. Proposed use of the 2011 IOM report recommendations as the basis 
for the 12 overarching recommendations and 36 activities in next 
revision of the action plan;
    2. Proposed use of improving healthcare worker PPE compliance as 
the overarching goal for prioritization; and
    3. Specific actions that NIOSH and the NIOSH PPT program should 
take to address the proposed recommendations

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Ronald E. Shaffer, Senior 
Scientist, NIOSH NPPTL Office of the Director at [email protected], 
telephone (412) 386-4001, fax (412) 386-6617.

    Dated: August 2, 2013.
John Howard,
Director, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2013-19273 Filed 8-8-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-19-P