[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 106 (Friday, June 1, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25458-25460]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-11789]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60Day-18-18UC; Docket No. CDC-2018-0029]


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 effort to reduce public burden and maximize the 
utility of government information, invites the general public and other 
Federal agencies the opportunity to comment on a proposed and/or 
continuing information collection, as required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995. This notice invites comment on a proposed 
information collection project titled Evaluation of the Sodium 
Reduction in Communities Program (SRCP) to estimate the costs to SRCP 
partners of implementing sodium reduction strategies. The proposed data 
collection aims to understand the costs to SRCP partner of implementing 
sodium reduction strategies.

DATES: CDC must receive written comments on or before July 31, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2018-
0029 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. CDC will post, without change, all relevant comments 
to Regulations.gov.

    Please note:  Submit all comments through the Federal 
eRulemaking portal (regulations.gov) or by U.S. mail to the address 
listed above.


[[Page 25459]]



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 Leroy A. Richardson, 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 the OMB for approval. To 
comply with this requirement, we are publishing this notice of a 
proposed data collection as described below.
    The OMB is particularly interested in comments that will help:
    1. 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;
    2. Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of 
the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
    3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; and
    4. Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those 
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submissions of responses.
    5. Assess information collection costs.

Proposed Project

    Evaluation of the Sodium Reduction in Communities Program--New 
Collection--National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health 
Promotion (NCCDPHP), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    The CDC, Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention (DHDSP), 
requests a one-year Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for 
a new information collection project titled Evaluation of the Sodium 
Reduction in Communities Program.
    The CDC is the primary Federal agency for protecting health and 
promoting quality of life through the prevention and control of 
disease, injury, and disability. CDC is committed to programs that 
reduce the health and economic consequences of the leading causes of 
death and disability, thereby ensuring a long, productive, healthy life 
for all people.
    Sodium reduction is a public health imperative. Although the 2015-
2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends no more than 2,300 mg/
day of sodium for adults, U.S. adults consume an average of more than 
3,500 mg/day. CDC National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 
(NHANES) data from 2013-2014 indicate that men over the age of 20 
consume an average of 4,099 mg/day of sodium. The significant gap 
between recommended intake and average intake poses a serious public 
health risk; high sodium intake can lead to hypertension, a common and 
costly health risk in the United States. Researchers indicate that the 
number of American adults with hypertension, estimated at 77.9 million, 
continues to grow. The increasing prevalence of hypertension is 
especially troubling because high blood pressure can lead to serious 
health issues, including cardiovascular disease (CVD), stroke, and 
kidney disease. One study projected that the real direct medical costs 
of CVD will triple between 2010 and 2030, from $273 billion to $818 
billion. Recent studies have shown that even modest population-level 
sodium reductions can lead to significant decreases in blood pressure 
and to potentially enormous savings--in lives and in dollars.
    Reducing sodium levels presents a special set of challenges for 
public health programs because high sodium intake is largely the result 
of sodium found in processed foods and foods prepared in restaurants. 
Commonly used to enhance flavor, texture, and viscosity or to preserve 
foods, salt is often hidden and difficult for consumers to recognize. 
Past sodium reduction initiatives that focused on consumer outreach and 
education succeeded in creating awareness of the link between sodium 
and hypertension, but failed to make a significant impact on 
consumption levels. Although consumer outreach and education should be 
a part of any sodium reduction strategy, these strategies are 
independently insufficient. As such, multiple reports by the Institute 
of Medicine and the Food and Drug Administration have asserted the need 
for large-scale, population-based efforts to decrease sodium 
consumption.
    Recognizing the importance of population-based approaches, CDC 
launched the first round of the SRCP in 2010 to reduce sodium intake by 
helping to create healthier food environments and a second round in 
2013 to reduce sodium intake in food environments through population-
based sodium reduction strategies. SRCP's project goals include 
increasing access to and availability of lower-sodium food options. The 
long-term goal of the initiative is to reduce sodium intake within the 
recommended levels in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
    The 2010 SRCP awardees implemented strategies in a variety of 
venues, including worksites, schools, independent restaurants, grocery 
and convenience stores, hospitals, and venues serving meals for older 
adults (e.g., senior and congregate meal sites). RTI International led 
the cross-site evaluation for these communities and found that 
achievements at the community level have the potential to bolster 
ongoing efforts at the individual, organizational, and national levels, 
and vice versa. Thus, community-based sodium reduction strategies play 
an important role in supporting broader changes and individual behavior 
changes. RTI is currently wrapping up the evaluation of the second 
round of SRCP, and preliminary findings demonstrate a strong impact of 
the program on availability, accessibility, and purchase of lower 
sodium options.
    CDC funded eight SRCP communities in 2016 to continue improving 
community and environmental supports for sodium reduction and to build 
practice-based evidence around effective population-based strategies to 
reduce sodium consumption. These communities are partnering with 
organizations to implement sodium reduction strategies in their food 
service venues. By creating a healthier environment, CDC seeks to 
decrease the population-wide burden of sodium intake.
    CDC and RTI International propose to collect information from all 
partners of SRCP grantees that are willing to participate in order to 
estimate the costs to SRCP partners of implementing sodium reduction 
strategies. Partner organizations are those that work to implement the 
sodium reduction strategies in their food services and can include 
worksites, schools, universities, hospitals, senior meal programs, food

[[Page 25460]]

banks, and restaurants. The information collection will occur via a 
cost data collection survey, in which respondents will be asked about a 
key set of sodium reduction activities that were developed during the 
evaluation of SRCP round two based on interviews with SRCP partners. 
Respondents are asked to report on all costs since beginning work on 
sodium reduction strategies as part of SRCP. While grantees began work 
on SRCP in 2016, partners began work at different times, so the time 
period of costs will vary by partner. Therefore, we also ask how long 
they have been working on sodium reduction. For each activity, 
respondents will be asked the number and types of staff that worked on 
the activity, the average monthly number of hours worked on that 
activity for each staff member, the number of months worked by each 
staff member, and how long the activity will continue. Additionally, 
for each activity, respondents will be asked to report any non-labor 
expenditures on materials or supplies. RTI will work with CDC and 
grantees to reach out to partners and request their participation in 
the survey. We will request participation from all SRCP partners via 
email.
    The insights to be gained from this data collection will be 
critical to understanding the full costs of implementing SRCP at all 
levels of implementation for a set of key sodium reduction activities, 
which is an important factor in program planning and maintaining 
program longevity and sustainability. The estimated annual burden hours 
are 88.

                                        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 hours)      (in hours)
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Partner Program Manager.......  Cost Survey.....              88               1               1              88
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.....................  ................  ..............  ..............  ..............              88
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Jeffrey M. Zirger,
Acting 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. 2018-11789 Filed 5-31-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4163-18-P