[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 48 (Friday, March 11, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12900-12901]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-05520]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60Day-16-16TM; Docket No. CDC-2016-0026]


Proposed Data Collection Submitted for Public Comment and 
Recommendations

AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of 
Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice with comment period.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part 
of its continuing efforts to reduce public burden and maximize the 
utility of government information, 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. This notice invites comment on a proposed 
information collection project entitled ``Prevalence Survey of 
Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs) and Antimicrobial Use in U.S. 
Nursing Homes.'' This information collection request will generate data 
to describe the epidemiology and estimate the burden of HAIs and 
antimicrobial use in US nursing homes using the prevalence survey 
method. Results will be used to inform state prevention efforts and 
federal priority setting for public health initiatives to improve HAI 
prevention and antimicrobial use.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before May 10, 2016.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2016-
0026 by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Regulation.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Leroy A. Richardson, Information Collection Review 
Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road 
NE., MS-D74, Atlanta, Georgia 30329.

Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name and 
Docket Number. All relevant comments received will be posted without 
change to Regulations.gov, including any personal information provided. 
For access to the docket to read background documents or comments 
received, go to Regulations.gov.

    Please note: All public comment should be submitted through the 
Federal eRulemaking portal (Regulations.gov) or by U.S. mail to the 
address listed above.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on the 
proposed project or to obtain a copy of the information collection plan 
and instruments, contact the Information Collection Review Office, 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE., MS-
D74, Atlanta, Georgia 30329; phone: 404-639-7570; Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), Federal agencies must obtain approval from 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of 
information they conduct or sponsor. In addition, the PRA also

[[Page 12901]]

requires Federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal 
Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including 
each new proposed collection, each proposed extension of existing 
collection of information, and each reinstatement of previously 
approved information collection before submitting the collection to OMB 
for approval. To comply with this requirement, we are publishing this 
notice of a proposed data collection as described below.
    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.

Proposed Project

    Prevalence Survey of Healthcare-Associated Infections and 
Antimicrobial Use in U.S. Nursing Homes--New--National Center for 
Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID), Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    Preventing healthcare-associated infections (HAI) and encouraging 
appropriate use of antimicrobials are priorities of both the U.S. 
Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention (CDC). The burden and epidemiology of HAIs and 
antimicrobial use in U.S. nursing homes is currently unknown. 
Understanding the scope and magnitude of all types of HAIs in patient 
populations across the spectrum of U.S. healthcare facilities is 
essential to the development of effective prevention and control 
strategies and policies.
    HAI prevalence and antimicrobial use estimates can be obtained 
through prevalence surveys in which data are collected in healthcare 
facilities during a short, specified time period. Essential steps in 
reducing the occurrence of HAIs and the prevalence of resistant 
pathogens include estimating the burden, types, and causative organisms 
of HAIs; assessing the nature and extent of antimicrobial use in U.S. 
healthcare facilities; and assessing the nature and extent of 
antimicrobial use.
    Prevalence surveys, in which data are collected in healthcare 
facilities during a short, specified time period represent an efficient 
and cost-effective alternative to prospective studies of HAI and 
antimicrobial use incidence. Given the absence of existing HAI and 
antimicrobial use data collection mechanisms for nursing homes, 
prevalence surveys represent a robust method for obtaining the 
surveillance data required to identify HAIs and antibiotic use 
practices that should be targeted for more intensive surveillance and 
to guide and evaluate prevention efforts.
    The methods for the data collection are based on those used in CDC 
hospital prevalence surveys and informed by a CDC pilot survey 
conducted in nine U.S. nursing homes. The survey will be performed by 
the CDC through the Emerging Infections Program (EIP), a collaboration 
with CDC and 10 state health departments with experience in HAI 
surveillance and data collection. Respondents are nursing homes 
certified by the Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services in EIP 
states. Nursing home participation is voluntary. Nursing homes will be 
randomly selected for participation, with a goal in each EIP site of 
recruiting a total of 20 nursing homes.
    There will be no anticipated costs to respondents other than their 
time. Information collection will last approximately one year.

                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     Number of    Average burden
      Type of respondents           Form name        Number of     responses per   per response    Total burden
                                                    respondents     respondent       (in hrs.)       (in hrs.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Director of Nursing,            Healthcare                   200               1           45/60             150
 Registered Nurse, Infection     Facility
 Control and Prevention          Assessment.
 Officer.
Registered Nurse..............  Residents by                 200              38           20/60           2,533
                                 Location Form.
Licensed Practical or Licensed  ................             200              38           20/60           2,533
 Vocational Nurses.
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.....................  ................  ..............  ..............  ..............           5,216
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


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. 2016-05520 Filed 3-10-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4163-18-P