[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 95 (Friday, May 16, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28515-28516]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-11313]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60Day-14-0975]


Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and 
Recommendations

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part of 
its continuing effort to reduce public burden, invites the general 
public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment 
on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. To request more information on the 
below proposed project or to obtain a copy of the information 
collection plan 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 submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) approval. 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; (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; and (e) 
estimates of capital or start-up costs and costs of operation, 
maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information. Burden 
means the total time, effort, or financial resources expended by 
persons to generate, maintain, retain, disclose or provide information 
to or for a Federal agency. This includes the time needed to review 
instructions; to develop, acquire, install and utilize technology and 
systems for the purpose of collecting, validating and verifying 
information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and 
providing information; to train personnel and to be able to respond to 
a collection of information, to search data sources, to complete and 
review the collection of information; and to transmit or otherwise 
disclose the information. Written comments should be received within 60 
days of this notice.

Proposed Project

    Virtual Reality to Train and Assess Emergency Responders (OMB No. 
0920-0975, expires 07/31/2016)--Revision--National Institute for 
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    NIOSH, under Public Law 91-173 as amended by Public Law 95-164 
(Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977), and Public Law 109-236 
(Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006) has the 
responsibility to conduct research to improve working conditions and to 
prevent accidents and occupational diseases in underground coal and 
metal/nonmetal mines in the U.S.
    The turn of the 21st century started with much promise for the coal 
mining industry. Because there was only one underground disaster in the 
1990s, it seemed that emergency response in the United States no longer 
needed to be a top research priority. However, major coal mine 
disasters between 2001 and 2010 have resulted in 65 fatalities. These 
events highlighted the critical need to balance investments to reduce 
low probability/high severity events with those that focus on frequent, 
but less severe injuries and illnesses.
    The present research project seeks to determine optimal use of 
virtual reality (VR) technologies for training and assessing mine 
emergency responders using the Mine Rescue and Escape Training 
Laboratory (MRET Lab). Responders include specially trained 
individuals, such as mine rescue or fire brigade team members, and also 
managers and miners who may either be called upon to respond to an 
emergency situation or engage in self-protective actions in response to 
an emergency. This project is a step toward determining how new 
immersive virtual reality technologies should be used for miner 
training and testing in the US.
    The project objective will be achieved through specific aims in two 
related areas as illustrated below.
Training Assessment
    1. Evaluate four training modules.
    2. Evaluate participant reactions.
    3. Develop guidelines.
Training Development
    4. Use 3D technologies to develop a prototype for a mine rescue 
closed-circuit breathing apparatus (e.g., Dr[auml]ger BG4).
    To accomplish these goals over the life of the project, researchers 
will utilize a variety of data collection strategies, including self-
report pre- and post-test instruments for assessing trainee reaction 
and measuring learning. Data collection will take place with 
approximately 210 underground coal miners over three years. The 
respondents targeted for this study include rank-and-file miners, mine 
rescue team members, and mine safety and health professionals. A sample 
of 210 individuals will be collected from various mining operations and 
mine rescue teams which have agreed to participate. All participants 
will be between the ages of 18 and 65, currently employed, and living 
in the United States. Findings will be used to improve the safety and 
health of underground coal miners by assessing the efficacy of 
immersive VR environments for teaching critical mine safety and health 
skills.
    To assess learning as a result of training, each participant will 
complete a pre-training questionnaire, a post-simulation questionnaire, 
and a post-training questionnaire. Participants evaluating the closed-
circuit breathing apparatus training will only complete a version of 
the pre-training questionnaire. There is no cost to respondents other 
than their time.
    As stated previously in the previously approved information 
collection request, research activities involving rank-and-file 
underground coal miners who participate in the mine escape training may 
occur at either the MRET Lab or in an off-site classroom or other 
typical instructional setting either at an above-ground mine safety 
training facility, mine administration building, or a university or 
academic environment (hereinto referenced as the ``classroom 
setting''). Having these two subsamples allows us to better assess uses 
for VR training applications, determine the potential additive value of 
training provided in the MRET Lab, and the potential benefits of 
adapting simulation-based mine emergency training to a broader 
audience. To accommodate an appropriate amount of mine escape 
participants for both the MRET Lab modules and classroom settings, we 
are requesting a revision in order to add 60 more participants to our 
150 participant data collection cap,

[[Page 28516]]

which would ideally leave us with 30 BG4 participants, 60 mine rescue 
participants (MRET Lab), 60 mine escape participants (MRET Lab), and 60 
mine escape participants (classroom setting), for a new grand total of 
210 participants.

                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                           Number        Average
                                                            Number of     responses    burden per   Total burden
        Type of respondent                Form name        respondents       per        response        hours
                                                                         respondent    (in hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr[auml]ger BG4 participants        Pre-Training                    30             1          3/60             2
 (i.e., closed circuit breathing     Questionnaire.
 apparatus training participants).
Mine Rescue participants..........  Pre-Training                    60             1          3/60             3
                                     Questionnaire.
                                    Post-Simulation                 60             1          3/60             3
                                     Questionnaire.
                                    Post-Training                   60             1          3/60             3
                                     Questionnaire.
Mine Escape participants..........  Pre-Training                   120             1          3/60             6
                                     Questionnaire.
                                    Post-Simulation                 60             1          3/60             3
                                     Questionnaire (MRET
                                     Lab version).
                                    Post-Simulation                 60             1          3/60             3
                                     Questionnaire
                                     (Field Test
                                     Version).
                                    Post-Training                  120             1          3/60             6
                                     Questionnaire.
Mine Escape/Longwall Mining         Pre/Post-Training               60             1          6/60             6
 participants.                       Knowledge Test.
Mine Escape/Continuous Mining       Pre/Post-Training               60             1          6/60             6
 participants.                       Knowledge Test.
Mine Rescue/Longwall Mining         Pre/Post-Training               30             1          6/60             3
 participants.                       Knowledge Test.
Mine Rescue/Continuous Mining       Pre/Post-Training               30             1          6/60             3
 participants.                       Knowledge Test.
                                                         -------------------------------------------------------
    Total.........................  ....................  ............  ............  ............            47
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


LeRoy A. 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. 2014-11313 Filed 5-15-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P