[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 185 (Tuesday, September 26, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44796-44798]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-20507]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[30Day-17-17HO]


Agency Forms Undergoing Paperwork Reduction Act Review

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has submitted 
the following information collection request to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The notice for the proposed 
information collection is published to obtain comments from the public 
and affected agencies.
    Written comments and suggestions from the public and affected 
agencies concerning the proposed collection of information are 
encouraged. Your comments should address any of the following: (a) 
Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary 
for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including 
whether the information will have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the 
accuracy of the agencies estimate of the burden of the proposed 
collection of information, including the validity of the methodology 
and assumptions used; (c) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; (d) Minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on those who are to respond, including 
through

[[Page 44797]]

the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other 
technological collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses; and 
(e) Assess information collection costs.
    To request additional information on the proposed project or to 
obtain a copy of the information collection plan and instruments, call 
(404) 639-7570 or send an email to [email protected]. Written comments and/or 
suggestions regarding the items contained in this notice should be 
directed to the Attention: CDC Desk Officer, Office of Management and 
Budget, Washington, DC 20503 or by fax to (202) 395-5806. Written 
comments should be received within 30 days of this notice.

Proposed Project

    Test Predictability of Falls Screening Tools--New--National Center 
for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC), Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    Falls are the leading cause of fatal and nonfatal injuries among 
adults aged 65 and older in the US and represent a significant burden 
to the healthcare system. The first step in clinical falls prevention 
is for health care practitioners to administer a fall risk screening. 
The screening identifies whether adults 65 and older are at ``increased 
risk'' for a fall. Additional assessments and follow-up medical care 
(e.g., medication review, vitamin D supplements, vision testing, and 
physical therapy) are then given to those at increased risk. The 
initial screening step is critical because it identifies who will 
receive the assessments and follow-up care, which has the potential to 
place a large burden on health care practitioners and the health care 
system. Given the demands on health care practitioners, among them to 
reduce health care costs, it is important to have a screening tool that 
can reliably identify adults 65 and older who are likely to fall and 
thus need this additional care. Although there are a number of tools 
used to screen older adults for fall risk, there is currently no 
standard for fall risk screening across care settings. This is in part 
because many of the existing tools have never been tested to determine 
how well they predict future falls. Thus, research is needed to test 
the ability of existing screening tools and questions to predict falls 
in subsequent years.
    The proposed data collection will compile a brief set of screening 
questions that are clinically useful for quickly sorting patients into 
risk levels for falls. It is expected that the screening questions 
identified in this project will be recommended for use by CDC as the 
standard for screening of falls for adults 65 and older in clinical 
settings. Questions will be asked to a nationally representative sample 
of adults 65 and older, who will then be followed with surveys repeated 
monthly over the following year to determine whether and how often they 
fall. Study data will be collected by internet or phone interviews, 
depending on respondents' preference. Interviews will consist of a 
baseline survey beginning immediately after OMB approval, 11 brief 
monthly update surveys for the 11 months after initial survey, and a 
final survey (similar in content to the baseline survey) 12 months 
after initial survey.
    At baseline, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor 
analysis will be used to demonstrate which survey items have the 
greatest likelihood of predicting future falls. To narrow down the 
larger list of survey items, item response theory will be used. 
Descriptive data analysis techniques will be used at every data 
collection time point in order to clean the data and to look for trends 
and outliers. Univariate and multivariate data analysis (primarily 
logistic regression) techniques will be used at 6 and 12 months after 
initial survey in order to determine which survey questions are related 
to fall status with statistical significance and to identify which 
survey questions have the greatest likelihood of predicting fall status 
while considering whether separate tools are necessary for key 
subgroups at high risk for falls, such as women and persons with prior 
history of falls.
    OMB approval is requested for two years for this new collection. 
Findings from this data collection will be used to examine the 
predictability (sensitivity and specificity) of various sets of 
screening questions on the occurrence of falls, including medically 
treated falls. The estimated annual burden hours are 2,970. There are 
no costs to respondents.

                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                                                                                      Average
                                                                     Number of       Number of      burden per
        Type of respondents                   Form name             respondents    responses per   response  (in
                                                                                    respondent        hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Participating AmeriSpeak Panelists.  Initial Postcard-Email.....           1,463               1            2/60
                                     Baseline Survey Web Mode...             570               1           20/60
                                     Baseline Survey Phone Mode.             380               1           30/60
                                     Monthly Update Survey                   570              11           10/60
                                      (months 1-11) Web Mode.
                                     Monthly Update Survey                   380              11           15/60
                                      (months 1-11) Phone Mode.
                                     Final Survey Web Mode......             570               1           20/60
                                     Final Survey Phone Mode....             380               1           30/60
                                     Falls Diary................             276               2            5/60
Proxy Respondents..................  Proxy Survey Web Mode......              57               4            3/60
                                     Proxy Survey Phone Mode....              38               4            5/60
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[[Page 44798]]

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. 2017-20507 Filed 9-25-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4163-18-P