[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 205 (Thursday, October 23, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63402-63404]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-25251]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60Day-15-0985]


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

[[Page 63403]]

be received within 60 days of this notice.

Proposed Project

    Returning Our Veterans to Employment and Reintegration (OMB No. 
0920-0985, expires 09/30/2015)--Revision--National Institute for 
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    The mission of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and 
Health (NIOSH) is to promote safety and health at work for all people 
through research and prevention. The Occupational Safety and Health 
Act, Public Law 91-596 (section 20[a][1]), authorizes NIOSH to conduct 
research to advance the health and safety of workers. NIOSH is 
requesting a three-year approval to account for the proposed changes to 
0920-0985 in order to improve the response rates for one of the two 
surveys included in the information collection, the Veterans Survey. No 
changes have been made to the Assistance Dog Provider Survey.
    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.
    An approach for helping veterans with PTSD and other psychiatric 
impairments is that of using service dogs for assistance and support. A 
quick Internet search will find dozens of Web sites by providers of 
service dogs for veterans, with assistance in transition to daily life 
(not necessarily employment) being the primary goal. The present 
research study will focus on the following questions with two surveys.
    The Assistance Dog Provider Survey will target service dog 
providers to address the following questions:
    1. Among assistance dog providers sampled in the U.S., how many 
provide services to veterans?
    2. Among assistance dog providers that provide services to 
veterans, what are the specific strategies used or services offered to 
address issues related to veterans and, specifically, return to work?
    3. From the perspective of assistance dog providers, have the 
services or the requests for services to assist veterans return to work 
increased, decreased, or remained the same during the past five years.
    The Veteran Survey will target veterans to address the following 
questions:
    1. Is a veteran's history or current experience with pet ownership/
bonding associated with physical, psychological, and emotional health?
    2. Is a veteran's history with pet ownership/bonding associated 
with their ability to cope with post-deployment or post-service 
stressors?
    3. Is a veteran's current experience with pet ownership/bonding 
associated with their ability to cope with post-deployment or post-
service stressors?
    4. Do the facilitators and barriers associated with reemployment 
differ by veterans' physical, psychological, and emotional health?
    5. What factors mediate or moderate the impact of pet ownership/
bonding among veterans' with physical and/or psychological disabilities 
and with regard to the facilitators and barriers associated with 
reemployment?
    The purpose of both surveys is to increase available information 
about services provided to veterans by assistance dog training 
organizations, and to increase available information on veteran's 
attitudes and perceptions about physical, psychological, physiological, 
and functional barriers that prevent veterans with PTSD and other 
physical or psychiatric disorders from returning to work, and to 
provide information about the potential benefits of animals and animal-
assisted interventions.
    The information and the Internet link to the web-based Assistance 
Dog Provider Survey will be sent by email to approximately 1,000 
service dog providers. It is estimated that 700 individuals will read 
the initial email or take the follow up phone call only. Depending on 
the level of involvement of each agency, activities associated with 
reading the email and responding to the email is estimated to take each 
respondent approximately five minutes and taking the follow up phone 
call is estimated to take an additional five minutes.
    The information and the Internet link to the web-based veteran 
survey will be sent by email to approximately 300 veteran agencies. The 
activities associated with reading the email, taking the follow up 
phone call, and distributing the flyer (and postcards, if requested) or 
forwarding the survey announcement to additional individuals is 
estimated to take up to five minutes each. These agencies will then 
distribute the email and flyer to the veterans associated with the 
agency at their discretion. Based on the results of similar studies, we 
anticipate a response rate of approximately 6,000 veterans.
    Results of this survey will lead to recommendations and guidance 
for assistance dog providers, healthcare professionals, researchers, 
and policymakers pertaining to animal-assisted interventions to help 
facilitate the reintegration and reemployment of Veterans. These 
surveys are part of a larger project that will identify priorities and 
new opportunities for research, as well as address policy implications 
associated with public access rights afforded to service dogs by the 
Americans with Disabilities Act. There are no costs to the respondents 
other than their time. The total estimated annual burden hours are 
6,586.
    We are requesting four changes to the Veteran Survey: (1) The 
inclusion of an incentive (the chance to win a $50 VISA gift card after 
completing all or portions of the survey), (2) revised, simplified 
survey announcements (emails and flyers), (3) an additional 
announcement in the form of postcards to be provided (only if 
requested) to veterans agencies to assist their dissemination of the 
survey announcement, and (4) the addition of a collaborating 
investigator. Changes 1-3 are attempts to increase the response rate. 
To date, only 66 veterans have completed the survey; the target number 
of respondents is 6,000. The average burden associated with Change 3 is 
expected to increase up to 60 minutes for some veteran's agency 
personnel. No change in burden is expected for veterans.
    No changes to any aspect of the Assistance Dog Provider Survey are 
being requested in this revision. Data collection is ongoing, but a 
sufficient number of service dog providers have completed the survey 
that changes to the recruitment methods are not necessary.

[[Page 63404]]



                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Hour
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                                                                     Number of    Average burden
      Type of respondent            Form name        Number of     responses per   per response    Total burden
                                                    respondents     respondent      (in hours)         hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Assistance Dog Providers (who   Assistance Dog               700               1            5/60              58
 read the initial email).        Provider
                                 Recruitment
                                 Email.
Assistance Dog Providers (who   Assistance Dog               700               1            5/60              58
 take follow up phone call).     Provider Survey
                                 Reminder Follow-
                                 up Telephone
                                 Script.
Assistance Dog Providers        Assistance Dog               300               1           30/60             150
 choosing to complete survey.    Provider Survey.
Veterans Agency Contacts (who   Veterans Survey              100               1            5/60               8
 read the initial email).        Announcement
                                 Email.
Veterans Agency Contacts (who   Veterans Survey              100               1            5/60               8
 take follow up phone call).     Follow-up
                                 Telephone
                                 Script.
Veterans Agency Contacts (who   Veterans Survey              100               1               1             100
 opt to receive and distribute   Announcement
 the postcards).                 Postcard.
U.S. Veterans.................  Veteran Survey..           6,000               1               1           6,000
U.S. Veterans.................  Raffle Form.....           6,000               1            2/60             200
U.S. Veterans (who are          Raffle Winner                 25               1            5/60               2
 selected as winners in raffle   Telephone
 and are contacted by phone).    Script.
U.S. Veterans (who are          Raffle Winner                 25               1            5/60               2
 selected as winners in raffle   Contact Email.
 and contacted by email).
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.....................  ................  ..............  ..............  ..............           6,586
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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. 2014-25251 Filed 10-22-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P