[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 168 (Friday, August 28, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53377-53379]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-18996]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60Day-20-20QN; Docket No. CDC-2020-0085]


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 ``Availability, 
Use, and Public Health Impact of Emergency Supply Kits among Disaster-
Affected Populations.'' The goal of this study is to determine the 
efficacy and public health impact of emergency supply kits among 
disaster-affected populations to understand how emergency supply kits 
are used during and after a natural disaster, if public health outcomes 
are associated with access to emergency supply kits, and what the most 
useful items to include in an emergency supply kit are across different 
types of disasters.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before October 27, 2020.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2020-
0085 by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Jeffrey 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 Jeffry 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 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,

[[Page 53378]]

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

Availability, Use, and Public Health Impact of Emergency Supply Kits 
Among Disaster-Affected Populations--New--National Center for 
Environmental Health (NCEH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
(CDC)

Background and Brief Description
    The National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) is requesting a 
new information collection request (ICR) with two years of approval. An 
all-of-society approach to disaster risk reduction emphasizes inclusion 
and engagement in preparedness activities. A common recommendation is 
to promote household preparedness through the preparation of an 
emergency supply kit that can be used to shelter-in-place or during 
evacuation. Lack of household preparedness is a public health concern, 
especially in medically frail populations, because it consumes first 
responders' time, taking them away from relief and recovery efforts, 
and can easily deplete community health resources. The Federal 
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) states that individuals or 
households are prepared for a disaster if they have thought about and 
planned for the types of disaster for which they are at most risk, have 
developed a family communication and evacuation plan in the event of a 
disaster, and have assembled a complete disaster (emergency) supply 
kit. However, the prevalence of emergency supply kits across households 
in the United States ranges considerably from a community-level low of 
10% to a regional high of 68%. This lack and variation of emergency 
supply kits across households makes household disaster preparedness a 
public health concern.
    Self-sufficiency (defined as the ability to shelter-in-place 
without needing to leave your home or call for outside assistance for 
~3 days following a disaster) can help reduce the demands placed on 
first responders during critical times, which has downstream public 
health impacts. Among persons with an existing physical or mental 
health condition at the time of the disaster, having an adequate supply 
of prescription and over-the-counter medications and medical supplies 
allows people to maintain treatment and prevent worsening or 
exacerbation of their existing condition or illness. It also can reduce 
their need for emergency medical services following a disaster. The 
FEMA definition of an emergency supply kit is one that can sustain each 
member of a household with food, water, and medication for up to three 
days. However, there are several knowledge gaps and challenges related 
to emergency supply kit use and effectiveness, including whether the 
current recommendations are adequate or need expansion. We identified 
the following gaps:
     Lack of consistency for what supplies to include in an 
emergency supply kit: While the public can access information on what 
contents are likely important to include in emergency supply kits, 
there is a lack of information as to whether there is a standard set of 
supplies that is consistently needed across disaster types
     Lack of a standard tool for evaluation of emergency supply 
kit use and effectiveness
     Lack of information on how emergency supply kit items are 
used during or following disasters: Currently we lack detailed 
information on how households use emergency supply kit items during or 
following disasters and what, if any, are barriers to their use
     Lack of information on effectiveness of emergency supply 
kits in preventing adverse outcomes: To our knowledge, there is no 
information on whether the use of emergency supply items prevents 
adverse health outcomes. Among individuals with health conditions, it 
remains unclear whether preparing an emergency supply kit with adequate 
medications and medical supplies prevents the worsening of conditions 
or the need for emergency medical services
     Lack of data to support emergency supply kit 
recommendations: It is unclear whether having essential supplies 
improves self-sufficiency and lessens the need for outside assistance
    This general lack of research on the efficacy and use of emergency 
supply kits impedes our ability to make data-driven recommendations 
regarding emergency supply kit promotion. The cross-sectional disaster 
survey and focus group(s) on the public's knowledge, preparedness, and 
use of emergency supply kits will identify and inform public health 
officials about the most useful items to include in an emergency supply 
kit, ideally across two different types of disasters. Data collection 
is anticipated to be between September 2020 and April 2022, depending 
upon disaster occurrence. Parameters for site selection include a major 
or state-level disaster declaration for a natural disaster that affects 
a mid- to high-density area (e.g., population of 100,000 people) within 
the United States.
    Survey participants will be selected via address-based sampling in 
the defined geographic area impacted by the disaster and given the 
choice to complete the survey via paper (i.e., Teleform) or online via 
a web-based instrument. Survey participants will also be recruited 
using an existing, nonprobability web panel and be directed to the 
online, web-based instrument to create a larger, more cost-effective 
dataset. Focus group participants will be randomly selected among 
survey respondents and/or recruited via targeted social media (e.g., 
Facebook, Craigslist) to provide context and enhancement to the survey.
    The estimated annualized burden is 464 hours. The estimated burden 
is based on conducting the survey in two sites, taking 15-minutes per 
respondent via the web or 45 minutes via paper survey, and up to two 
focus groups in each site taking approximately 120 minutes. There is no 
cost to respondents other than their time.

                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                                                                                       Total
                                                     Number of       Number of    Average burden    annualized
      Type of respondent            Form name       respondents    responses per   per  response    burden  (in
                                                                    respondent      (in hours)        hours)
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General Public Household        Web Survey......             667               1           15/60             166
 Member.
                                Paper Survey....             333               1           45/60             250
                                Focus Group.....              24               1          120/60              48
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    Total.....................  ................  ..............  ..............  ..............             464
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[[Page 53379]]

Jeffrey M. Zirger,
Lead, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Scientific 
Integrity, Office of Science, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2020-18996 Filed 8-27-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P