[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 228 (Tuesday, November 26, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70562-70563]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-28296]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60Day-14-14CW]


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 LeRoy Richardson, 1600 Clifton Road, MS-D74, 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

    Health and Socioeconomic Sequelae of the WTC Disaster among 
Responders--New--National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 
(NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    Since the inception of the World Trade Center (WTC) Medical 
Monitoring and Treatment Program (MMTP), health reports have focused on 
disorders of the aerodigestive tract and mental health consequences, 
and with the exception of spirometry, comparisons with general and 
normative population data have not been made. Furthermore, none of the 
previous studies comprehensively evaluated the changes of socioeconomic 
status in WTC responders after 9/11. Lowered socioeconomic status (SES) 
is an important potential consequence of WTC exposures that can 
negatively impact the physical and mental health status among WTC 
responders. The main objective of this study is to establish an 
expanded occupational health surveillance system that summarizes 
overall health status of WTC responders over time, and also provides 
information about symptoms not previously reported. Through this work, 
it is possible that other health outcomes will be identified and 
reported, such as autoimmune disorders. This expanded surveillance 
system will supplement reports the WTC Data Center (DC) will be 
providing. To provide a reference population, the WTC cohort will be 
compared to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and the 
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to compare physical 
and mental health status by matching variables. The comparison will 
estimate

[[Page 70563]]

the magnitude of the impact of WTC exposure on the health of WTC 
responders compared with the general population in U.S. and New York-
White Plains-Wayne, NY/NJ metropolitan area. Findings from this 
expanded surveillance will be reported through an integrated 
occupational health surveillance report. The term ``integrated 
occupational health surveillance report'' means a detailed and overall 
description of health status over time, with a comparison of groups 
both within the cohort and from the general population. The findings 
from this report will also aid in the future development of new 
guidelines for the implementation of an occupational health 
surveillance system for disasters, which is essential for disaster 
preparedness. Along with implementing a surveillance system, an 
additional objective will be to investigate ambi-directional effect 
modification between SES and health status. By ascertaining effect 
modification, SES will be added as one of the important variables 
necessary to perform surveillance. The study hypotheses for the effect 
modification investigation are (1) WTC exposures lower health status; 
(2) WTC exposures lower socioeconomic status; and (3) an interaction 
effect exists between these variables. This investigation for effect 
modification between health and SES is a unique research topic that has 
not been studied for WTC responders. Understanding the nature of the 
linkage between health and SES will help to identify high risk groups 
and offer a primary target for prevention and intervention strategies. 
With successful completion of this 2-year study, we expect a 
substantial improvement of the occupational health surveillance system 
for WTC responders.
    The World Trade Center (WTC) research team at the North Shore-LIJ 
Health System is seeking to evaluate the impact of using modified 
survey questions versus standard questions when participant responses 
from the WTC and general populations are compared.
    The WTC Health Program has been collecting self-reported health 
information for medical monitoring purposes. Initially, the questions 
were derived from multiple standard general population surveys, such as 
the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and the 
National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). However, certain questions 
were modified from their standard versions, and we would like to 
determine whether these modifications may lead study participants to 
answer differently.
    CDC requests Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval to 
collect information from an anonymous (no personal information will be 
collected) and voluntary questionnaire, in order to test this research 
question. We will compare participant responses to a short 
questionnaire (approximately two pages of main content) which will 
contain both the modified and standard questions.
    The total estimated burden for the one-time completion of the 
anonymous questionnaire is 50 hours (600 respondents x 5 minutes each). 
Blank questionnaires will be placed in the waiting area of the Queens 
WTC Clinical Center of Excellence at Long Island Jewish Medical Center/
Queens College (Queens WTC Clinical Centers of Excellence). There will 
be no verbal solicitation for participation; however, we will post a 
written advertisement in the waiting area of the clinic.
    CDC anticipates that questionnaire collection will take place from 
December 2014-December 2015. The total estimated annualized burden 
hours are 50.
    There are no costs to respondents other than their time.

                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                                                   Number of      Average burden
     Type of respondents         Form name        Number of      responses per     per response    Total burden
                                                 respondents       respondent       (in hrs.)        (in hrs.)
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Individual WTC Responders...  Health and                  600                1             5/60               50
                               Socioeconomic
                               Sequelae of
                               the WTC
                               Disaster among
                               Responders.
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    Total...................  ...............  ...............  ...............  ...............              50
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LeRoy Richardson,
Chief, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Scientific 
Integrity, Office of the Associate Director for Science, Office of the 
Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2013-28296 Filed 11-25-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P