[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 174 (Tuesday, September 9, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53428-53430]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-21379]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60Day-14-14AVQ]


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 A. 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

    Returning Our Veterans to Employment and Reintegration (ROVER): 
Work Stress and Assistance Animals--New--National Institute for 
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    Veterans with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) face 
barriers that prevent many of them from successfully reintegrating into 
society and returning to the work force. Various reports claim that 
higher unemployment rates and increased healthcare costs and 
utilization are associated with PTSD.
    Symptoms associated with PTSD include diminished interest or 
participation in significant activities, feelings of detachment or 
estrangement from others, difficulty falling or staying asleep, hyper 
vigilance, exaggerated startle response, difficulty with concentration 
or attention, and a restricted range of affect. Amelioration of PTSD 
symptoms is necessary to facilitate reintegration of veterans into 
society and the workforce; these benefits may also contribute 
positively to veterans' overall physical and psychological health.
    A review of mostly anecdotal evidence suggests that animal-assisted 
interventions may have general therapeutic benefits for individuals 
with PTSD. Although a few reports tout the benefits of human-animal 
companionship, no studies have focused specifically on investigating 
the elements of human-animal interactions that might be therapeutic for 
individuals with PTSD or other stress-related disorders. Furthermore, 
there is scant evidence supporting the notion that service dogs or 
therapy dogs may directly improve functioning and, thereby, ease an 
individual's reintegration into society and employment.
    NIOSH is seeking a 3-year approval from OMB on a research study 
aimed at understanding the benefits of human-animal interactions for 
the purpose of facilitating the reintegration and employment of 
veterans with PTSD. The efficacy of using service dogs or other types 
of assistance dogs to help veterans with disabilities return to work 
has not been established in well-controlled scientific studies, and 
fundamental empirical evidence is scant. As a step toward a greater 
understanding, a laboratory-based work-simulation study will be 
conducted to investigate the influence of the presence of and 
interactions with a dog on the reactivity and performance of veterans 
with and without PTSD to work-related and startle stressors. Results of 
the laboratory-based study will complement the findings of another 
project (OMB No. 09200985), which is gathering information about 
veterans perceptions

[[Page 53429]]

of the barriers and facilitators to reintegration through two national 
Web-based surveys. There is no duplication of effort or burden because 
the research objectives and research methods are substantial different.
    This study will be conducted at the NIOSH research facility in 
Morgantown, WV, which includes state-of-the-art laboratories and 
equipment to simulate work-related stress under controlled conditions 
and will use a small-n experimental design with multiple, repeated 
assessments over time to measure the behavioral (work performance), 
psychological, and physiological responses of participants. The role of 
dogs in potentially moderating the effects of the stressors will be 
investigated with either the absence or presence of a dog in some 
conditions and a dog that is either familiar or unfamiliar to the 
veteran in other conditions. The general working hypothesis is that the 
presence of, and/or interaction with, a familiar dog reduces stress and 
enhances work performance for both veterans with and without PTSD, with 
a greater benefit to veterans with PTSD.
    U.S. Veterans, with and without PTSD, and veterans with service 
dogs will be recruited with the assistance of various veterans' 
organizations to participate in this research study. During the initial 
recruitment phase, veterans who receive and respond to the recruitment 
announcements will complete several Web-based prescreening 
questionnaires, and eligible veterans, who are enrolled into the 
research study, will complete additional questionnaires and tasks in 
multi-day assessment sessions at the NIOSH Morgantown facility. An 
estimated 400 persons in various veterans' agencies will receive email 
announcements of the research study and follow-up phone calls. The work 
activity associated with reading the email, answering the phone calls, 
and distributing a study announcement/flyer to additional individuals 
is estimated to take up to 10 minutes for each occurrence. 
Approximately 200 veterans are expected to see the recruitment flyers 
and complete the initial Web-based contact form and several pre-
screening forms, including the Pet Attitude Scale, the Combat Exposure 
Scale, PTSD Checklist, Medication List, Drug Abuse Screening Test, 
Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, Short Michigan 
Alcoholism Screening Tool, and the World Health Organization Quality of 
Life Index Brief. A total of 64 eligible veterans from this pool are 
expected to be enrolled in the laboratory portion of the study, 
including at least 16 veterans who own a service dog. Upon entering the 
study, all enrolled veterans will complete the Positive and Negative 
Affect Scale on site, and veterans with service dogs will complete the 
Big Five Inventory (BFI), the Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research 
Questionnaire (CBARQ), the Pet Attachment and Life Impact Scale (PALS), 
Dog Personality Scale (DPQ), and the Social Style-Self and the Social 
Style-Service Dog questionnaires.
    There are no costs to respondents other than their time.

                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                      Average
                                                     Number of       Number of      burden per     Total burden
      Type of respondent            Form name       respondents    responses per   response (in        hours
                                                                    respondent        hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Representatives of veterans     Veterans Study               400               1           10/60              67
 organizations.                  Announcement
                                 Email/Phone
                                 Contact.
Veterans......................  Recruitment                  200               1           10/60              33
                                 Flyer.
Veterans......................  Contact Form....              64               1           10/60              11
Veterans......................  Pre-Screening                 64               1            5/60               5
                                 Pet Attitude
                                 Scale.
Veterans......................  Pre-Screening                 64               1            5/60               5
                                 Combat Exposure
                                 Scale.
Veterans......................  Pre-Screening                 64               1            5/60               5
                                 PTSD Checklist.
Veterans......................  Pre-Screening                 64               1            5/60               5
                                 Medication List.
Veterans......................  Pre-Screening                 64               1            5/60               5
                                 Drug Abuse
                                 Screening Test.
Veterans......................  Pre-Screening                 64               1            5/60               5
                                 Center for
                                 Epidemiolo-
                                 gical Studies
                                 Depression
                                 Scale.
Veterans......................  Pre-Screening                 64               1            5/60               5
                                 Short Michigan
                                 Alcoholism
                                 Screening Tool.
Veterans......................  Pre-Screening                 64               1           10/60              11
                                 World Health
                                 Organization
                                 Quality of Life
                                 Index Brief.
Enrolled Veterans without       Positive and                  48               3            2/60               5
 Service Dogs.                   Negative Affect
                                 Scale (PANAS).
Enrolled Veterans with Service  PANAS...........              16               6            2/60               3
 Dogs.
Enrolled Veterans without       NASA Task Load                48               2            2/60               5
 Service Dogs.                   Index (NASA
                                 TLX).
Enrolled Veterans with Service  NASA TLX........              16               4            2/60               2
 Dogs.
Enrolled Veterans with Service  Big Five                      16               1           10/60               3
 Dogs.                           Inventory (BFI).
Enrolled Veterans with Service  Canine                        16               1           10/60               3
 Dogs.                           Behavioral
                                 Assessment and
                                 Research
                                 Questionnaire
                                 (CBARQ).
Enrolled Veterans with Service  Pet Attachment                16               1           10/60               3
 Dogs.                           and Life Impact
                                 Scale (PALS).
Enrolled Veterans with Service  Dog Personality               16               1           10/60               3
 Dogs.                           Scale (DPQ).
Enrolled Veterans with Service  Social Style-                 16               1           10/60               3
 Dogs.                           Self.
Enrolled Veterans with Service  Social Style-                 16               1           10/60               3
 Dogs.                           Service Dog.
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr                  ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.....................  ................  ..............  ..............  ..............             190
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[[Page 53430]]

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. 2014-21379 Filed 9-8-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P