[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 156 (Tuesday, August 13, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40061-40062]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-17289]



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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60Day-19-19BND; Docket No. CDC-2019-0066]


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 a Generic 
Information Collection Request for Cognitive Testing and Pilot Testing 
for the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health 
Promotion. A generic clearance is needed to support methodological 
studies that improve information quality and the efficiency of 
information collection.

DATES: CDC must receive written comments on or before October 15, 2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2019-
0066 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.

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 Jeffrey M. Zirger, Information Collection 
Review Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton 
Road NE, MS-D74, Atlanta, Georgia 30329; phone: 404-639-7118; 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

    Generic Information Collection Request (ICR) for Cognitive Testing 
and Pilot Testing for the National Center for Chronic Disease 
Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP)--New--National Center for 
Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP), Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health 
Promotion (NCCDPHP) plans to establish a generic clearance to support 
information collection for cognitive testing and pilot testing 
activities. Information collections that support the Behavioral Risk 
Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and other NCCDPHP programs are 
expected to be the major focus of activity under this generic. 
Additional information collections may also be considered for 
submission through this generic clearance if they are relevant to BRFSS 
and NCCDPHP programs or collaborations.
    Cognitive testing and pilot testing are methodological procedures 
conducted to prepare for a large scale or key information collection. 
Cognitive and pilot testing activities are designed to improve 
information quality and the efficiency of information collection by 
addressing issues such as the use of new or existing survey questions, 
question formatting, survey protocols, data collection software systems 
and other related processes.
    Cognitive testing is a technique used to clarify the meaning of 
survey questions and/or the response options for questions. Cognitive 
testing contributes to the understanding of the validity and 
reliability of questions used for a variety of public health purposes. 
Cognitive testing is conducted early in the process of considering 
questions for use in a survey or other information collection activity. 
This type of testing is usually conducted in a controlled setting, such 
as an office setting. Respondents participate in a discussion or 
interview with a trained interviewer and may respond individually or as 
members of focus groups.
    Questions may undergo cognitive testing because they have not been 
used in previous surveys; for example, questions related to the 
emergence of a new public health concern (such as e-cigarettes). In 
addition, testing may be conducted on previously used questions to 
assess their use in a different information collection mode; for 
example, testing might be conducted to convert questions developed for 
a paper survey to an interview format or an electronic survey format; 
or testing might be conducted to identify issues specific to a 
subpopulation or language translation. Respondents are asked to review 
questions and/or surveys to discuss their impressions of the items 
under consideration, the questions, the response set, individual words 
within the question, or the focus of the questionnaire itself. 
Incentives may be offered to respondents who participate in the in-
person phase of cognitive testing since these activities involve 
additional burden and inconvenience.
    Pilot testing is used to determine whether methods or modes of data 
collection (such as phone or mail surveys, in-person interviews or 
online data collection) are appropriate and efficient ways of 
collecting data. Pilot

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testing may include testing of changes in sampling or contacting 
potential respondents.
    The majority of participants in cognitive and pilot testing 
activities are expected to be adults >=18 years of age. Information may 
be collected during the recruitment process to assist in the selection 
of respondents. Respondents may be recruited to take part in testing 
through online or newspaper advertisements. If the participants are not 
recruited to be present at a physical location, they may be called and 
recruited by telephone.
    Cognitive and pilot testing are efficient means of identifying 
problems with questions and procedures prior to implementation of data 
collection. Thus, they are cost effective approaches to providing 
evidence on survey questionnaire performance. A consequence of 
cognitive and pilot testing is to maintain high levels of participation 
in the information collection process itself.
    Initial response and burden estimates are based on anticipated 
information collection needs for the BRFSS, with an additional 
allocation for a variety of NCCDPHP programs and collaborators. Each 
information collection activity conducted through this generic will be 
submitted to OMB for approval in a project-specific information 
collection request that describes its purpose and methods.
    Participation in cognitive and pilot testing is voluntary, but 
respondents will be encouraged to participate by explanations of the 
need for their input in the introduction of each survey. CDC requests 
approval for an 8,950 burden hours annually. There are no costs to 
respondents other than their time.

                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     Number of    Average burden
      Type of respondent            Form name        Number of     responses per   per response    Total burden
                                                    respondents     respondent      (in hours)       (in hrs.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
General U.S. Population or      Screening for              2,500               1           15/60             625
 Selected Subpopulation.         cognitive
                                 testing.
                                Screening for              2,400               1           15/60             600
                                 pilot testing.
                                Cognitive                  1,500               1           60/60           1,500
                                 testing in
                                 person.
                                Cognitive                  1,500               1           45/60           1,125
                                 testing by
                                 phone.
                                Cognitive                    600               1           60/60             600
                                 testing by ABS/
                                 mail/web.
                                Pilot testing in           1,000               1           30/60             500
                                 person.
                                Pilot testing by           3,000               1           30/60           1,500
                                 phone.
                                Pilot testing by           5,000               1           30/60           2,500
                                 ABS/mail/web.
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.....................  ................          17,500  ..............  ..............           8,950
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Jeffrey M. Zirger,
Lead, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Scientific 
Integrity, Office of Science, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2019-17289 Filed 8-12-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P