[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 154 (Wednesday, August 10, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52868-52870]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-18937]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60 Day-16-16AWN: Docket No. CDC-2016-0080]


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.

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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 the National 
Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) 2017 Computer Based Pilot. The NYTS is 
currently administered in a paper and pencil format. The NYTS Computer 
Based Pilot will assess the feasibility of administering the survey in 
an electronic format.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before October 11, 2016.

[[Page 52869]]


ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2016-
0080 by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Jeffrey M. Zirger, 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 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

    National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) 2017 Computer Based Pilot--
New--National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health 
Promotion (NCCDPHP), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    Tobacco use is a major preventable cause of morbidity and mortality 
in the U.S. A limited number of health risk behaviors, including 
tobacco use, account for the overwhelming majority of immediate and 
long-term sources of morbidity and mortality. Because the majority of 
tobacco users begin using tobacco before the age of 18, there is a 
critical need for public health programs directed towards youth, and 
for information to support these programs.
    In 1999, 2000, and 2002, the American Legacy Foundation funded 
surveys to assess tobacco use among adolescents. Building on these 
efforts, CDC conducted the National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS, OMB no. 
0920-0621) in 2004, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. 
At present, the NYTS is the most comprehensive source of nationally 
representative tobacco data among students in grades 9-12, moreover, 
the NYTS is the only national source of such data for students in 
grades 6-8. The NYTS has provided national estimates of tobacco use 
behaviors, information about exposure to pro- and anti-tobacco 
influences, information about racial and ethnic disparities in tobacco-
related topics, and most recently, estimates of use of emerging 
products such as water pipes (hookahs) and electronic cigarettes (e-
cigarettes). Information collected through the NYTS is used by CDC, the 
Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and public health practitioners and 
researchers to identify and monitor trends over time, to inform the 
development of tobacco cessation programs for youth, and to evaluate 
the effectiveness of existing interventions and programs.
    The NYTS is currently conducted by a paper and pencil (PAP) method 
in a classroom setting, scheduled by each school. At this time, many 
schools have experience with electronic technologies that offer several 
potential advantages compared to PAP survey administration. For 
example, electronic information collection methods support conditional 
`skip logic' routing and adaptive survey design, and may improve 
respondent satisfaction, data reliability, and data management. As a 
result, CDC plans to conduct a computer based pilot of the 2017 NTYS 
using a hand-held tablet. The specific aims of the 2017 NYTS pilot are 
to (1) assess respondent burden; (2) determine the reliability and 
efficiencies of electronic mode data collection; (3) assess the 
reliability and validity of survey results obtained from electronic 
data; (4) assess the cost-effectiveness of electronic administration; 
(5) measure the length of time between data collection and 
dissemination of findings; and (6) assess student expectations about 
survey participation, given changes in classroom technology.
    The computer-based pilot study is designed to complement the 
ongoing, paper-based NYTS. In 2017, the PAP version of the NYTS will be 
administered as usual according to established methods (OMB No. 0920-
0621, exp. 1/31/2018). Sampling, recruitment, and survey administration 
for both studies will be coordinated to prevent overlap, maximize 
participation, and maximize the comparison of results. The sampling 
vendor for the traditional NYTS will oversample from the NYTS sampling 
frame, assigning a smaller population to participate in the pilot 
study. The sample for the pilot study will be approximately 75% of the 
size of the sample for the paper-based NYTS. The samples for each mode 
of the survey will be drawn at the same time to ensure that the same 
schools are not approached for the different versions. Additionally, 
the paper version of the survey will start collecting data prior to the 
pilot version beginning data collection to ensure schools in the same 
district do not face multiple collectors during the same time period.
    The 2017 computer-based pilot of the NYTS will be conducted among a

[[Page 52870]]

nation-wide sample of students attending public schools in grades 6-12. 
Participating students will complete the survey in person in a 
classroom setting using a tablet provided by CDC's information 
collection contractor. The tablet will be distributed at the beginning 
of the class session and returned at the end of the class session. This 
is similar to administration of the PAP NYTS, in which a paper 
questionnaire booklet is distributed to students at the beginning of a 
class session, completed, and returned at the end of the session.
    The content of the 2017 pilot survey will mirror the paper-based 
survey. The questions, developed in cooperation with the Food and Drug 
Administration (FDA), examine the following topics: Use of cigarettes, 
smokeless tobacco, cigars, pipes, bidis, snus, hookahs, electronic 
vapor products, and dissolvable tobacco products; knowledge and 
attitudes; media and advertising; access to tobacco products; 
secondhand smoke exposure; and cessation. In addition, specific 
questions will be included in the pilot survey to better understand 
respondents' feelings about safety and security around utilizing a 
computer based survey.
    Findings from the NYTS pilot will be used to assess the feasibility 
of conducting the computer-based NYTS compared to the paper-based 
survey. Results will also be used to help evaluate the impact of 
automated collection techniques and computer-based survey 
administration on response burden. After data collection, the computer-
based data will be compared to the paper-based data to determine which 
method provides the most validity and reliability.
    OMB approval will be requested for one year. There are no changes 
in the estimated burden per response for any type of respondent 
compared to the paper version. Participation is voluntary and there are 
no costs to respondents other than their time. The estimated annualized 
burden hours for this data collection are 3,689 hours.

                                                            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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State Administrators...........................  State-level Recruitment Script for the                6               1           30/60               3
                                                  National Youth Tobacco Survey.
District Administrators........................  District-level Recruitment Script for                45               1           30/60              23
                                                  the National Youth Tobacco Survey.
School Administrators..........................  School-level Recruitment Script for the              64               1           30/60              32
                                                  National Youth Tobacco Survey.
Teachers.......................................  Data Collection Checklist for the                   292               1           15/60              73
                                                  National Youth Tobacco Survey.
Students.......................................  National Youth Tobacco Survey..........           6,100               1           35/60           3,558
                                                                                         ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total......................................  .......................................  ..............  ..............  ..............           3,689
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Jeffrey M. Zirger,
Health Scientist, Acting Chief, Information Collection Review Office, 
Office of Scientific Integrity, Office of the Associate Director for 
Science, Office of the Director.
[FR Doc. 2016-18937 Filed 8-9-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4163-18-P