[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 27 (Monday, February 10, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7558-7560]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-02542]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[60Day-20-1175; Docket No. CDC-2020-0006]
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 the Environmental Public Health
Tracking Network, an information system which collects data from other
CDC programs such as the National Center for Health Statistics, other
federal agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, publicly
accessible systems such as the Census Bureau, and funded and unfunded
state and local health departments (SLHD).
DATES: CDC must receive written comments on or before April 10, 2020.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2020-
0006 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: 404-639-7570; 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
[[Page 7559]]
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
Environmental Public Health Tracking Network (OMB Control No. 0920-
1175, Exp. 04/30/2020)--Revision--National Center for Environmental
Health (NCEH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Background and Brief Description
In September 2000, the Pew Environmental Health Commission issued a
report entitled ``America's Environmental Health Gap: Why the Country
Needs a Nationwide Health Tracking Network.'' In this report, the
Commission documented that the existing environmental health systems
were inadequate and fragmented, and recommended a ``Nationwide Health
Tracking Network for disease and exposures.'' In response to the
report, Congress appropriated funds in the fiscal year 2002's budget
for the CDC to establish the National Environmental Public Health
Tracking Network (Tracking Network).
Continuously since 2008, and at the national level, the program
collects data from (1) other CDC programs such as the National Center
for Health Statistics, (2) other federal agencies such as the
Environmental Protection Agency, (3) publicly accessible systems such
as the Census Bureau, and (4) funded and unfunded state and local
health departments (SLHD). These data are integrated into and
disseminated from the Tracking Network and used for analyses which can
inform national programs, interventions, or policies; guide further
development and activities within the Tracking Program; or advance the
practice and science of environmental public health tracking. The
Tracking Program also collects information from funded SLHD to monitor
their progress related to their funding and for program evaluation.
This information collection request (ICR) is focused on data and
information gathered by the Tracking Program from SLHD. The CDC
requests a three-year approval to revise the ``Environmental Public
Health Tracking Network (Tracking Network)'' (OMB Control No. 0920-
1175; Expiration Date 04/30/2020). Specifically, CDC seeks to make the
following changes:
1. For Tracking Data, minor changes are requested for the following
instruments:
a. (Attachment 4F) Radon testing--removed 33 elements and added 4
elements.
2. For Program Data, minor changes are requested for the following
instruments:
a. (Attachment 5A) EPHT Work Plan--added ten keyword questions.
b. (Attachment 5B) Public Health Action Report--added 4 questions.
c. (Attachment 5C) Performance Measurement Strategy Report
(previously Attachment 5D)--removed 2 questions/elements and reduce
reporting to once a year.
d. Attachment 5D--Communication Plan Template and Guide (previously
Attachment 5C)--streamlined template for more efficient reporting.
e. Attachment 5E--Partnership Plan Template and Guide--(previously
Attachment 5C)--partnership plan was separated from communication plan
for clarity.
f. Attachment 5F--website Analytics Template (previously Attachment
5E)--created an excel reporting template with one cell for each
question.
The three-year approval will allow CDC to continue collecting
health, exposure, and hazard data for environmental health surveillance
as well as program monitoring information from funded SLHD through the
current five-year cooperative agreement--``Enhancing Innovation and
Capabilities of the Environmental Public Health Tracking Network''
(CDC-RFA-EH17-1720).
The Tracking Network provides the United States with accurate and
timely standardized data from existing health, exposure, and hazard
surveillance systems and supports ongoing efforts within the public
health and environmental sectors. The goal of the Tracking Network is
to improve health tracking, exposure and hazard monitoring, and
response capacity. When such data are available, the Tracking Program
obtains data from national or public sources in order to reduce the
burden on SLHD. When data are not available nationally or publicly, the
Tracking Program relies on funded SLHD to obtain and submit these data
to the Tracking Network. Data from unfunded SLHD are accepted but not
requested or solicited.
Data submitted annually by SLHD to the Tracking Program include:
(1) Birth defects prevalence, (2) childhood lead blood levels, if a
SLHD does not already report such data to CDC, (3) community drinking
water monitoring, (4) emergency department visits, (5)
hospitalizations, and (6) radon testing. The Tracking Program receives
childhood lead blood levels data from CDC's Childhood Lead Poisoning
Prevention Program (under the Healthy Homes and Lead Poisoning
Surveillance System [HHLPSS--OMB Control No. 0920-0931, expiration date
5/31/2018]). A metadata record, a file describing the original source
and collection procedures for the data being submitted, is also
submitted with each dataset (1 per dataset for a total of 6 metadata
records per year) using the Tracking Program's metadata creation tool.
Standardized extraction, formatting, and submission processes are
developed in collaboration between CDC and SLHD for each dataset.
Additions or modifications to these standardized datasets will also be
developed collaboratively in order to improve the accuracy,
completeness, efficiency, or utility of data submitted to CDC. Such
changes will occur at most once a year. Examples of changes to data
processes may include: (1) Addition of new variables or outcomes, (2)
updates to case definitions, (3) modifications to temporal or spatial
aggregation, and (4) changes in formatting for submission. As required,
the Tracking Network will submit future additions and modifications as
nonsubstantive change requests or revision ICRs.
Over the past three years, these data have been
Used to calculate standardized measures for environmental
health surveillance
Integrated into the Tracking Network and disseminated to
the public via the Tracking Network's National Public Portal at http://ephtracking.cdc.gov/showHome.action.
Queried 577,058 times via the Tracking Network's National
Public Portal
Conduct analyses such as
[cir] A review of air and water quality differences between rural
and urban counties
[cir] The development of standardized sub-county geographies for
disseminating health data.
[cir] An analysis of the short-term associations between air
pollution and respiratory emergency department visits across all age
groups.
The Tracking Program also collects program monitoring information
from funded SLHD. In addition to standard reporting required by CDC's
Procurement and Grants Office, the Tracking Program also collects
information from funded SLHD for the purposes of program evaluation and
[[Page 7560]]
monitoring. This information includes an Environmental Public Health
Tracking Workplan Template, a Performance Measure Report, a
Communication Plan, a Partnership Plan, and a website Analytics
Template. Each of these forms are collected annually as documents
emailed to the Tracking Program. A public health action (PHA) report is
submitted at least once and up to four times a year via email to the
Tracking Program as funded SLHD have PHA to report.
Over the past three years, these data were used to identify funded
SLHD in need of additional technical assistance, identify common
challenges and successes, improve communication between funded SLHD and
CDC, and to monitor funded SLHD compliance with funding requirements.
There are no costs for the respondents other than their time. The
total estimated time burden is 21,860 hours. This estimate includes the
time it takes to extract the data from the original data source(s),
standardize and format the data to match the corresponding Tracking
Network data form, and submit the data to the Tracking Network. In some
cases, the data at the source are centralized and easily extracted. In
other cases, like for radon data, the data are not. In those cases, the
number of hours for extracting and standardizing the data is much
greater. Four respondents have been added to the 26 SLHDs the program
currently funds to account for the data voluntarily received from
unfunded SLHDs and to allow for potential program growth over the next
three years.
Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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Number of Avg. burden
Type of respondent Form name Number of responses per per response Total burden
respondents respondent (in hrs.) (in hrs.)
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State and local health Birth defects 22 1 80 1760
departments. prevalence.
Childhood lead 18 1 80 1440
blood levels.
Community 30 1 100 3000
drinking water
monitoring.
Emergency 30 1 80 2400
department
visits.
Hospitalizations 30 1 80 2400
Radon testing... 18 1 100 1800
Metadata records 30 6 20 3600
EPHT Work Plan.. 30 1 40 1200
Public Health 30 4 20 2400
Action Report.
Performance 30 1 20 600
Measure Report.
Communications 30 1 20 600
plan.
Partnership plan 30 1 20 600
Website 30 2 1 60
analytics.
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Total..................... ................ .............. .............. .............. 21,860
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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. 2020-02542 Filed 2-7-20; 8:45 am]
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