[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 71 (Thursday, April 15, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19879-19881]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-07707]


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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

[Docket No. CPSC-2020-0027]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; Warning Label Comprehension and Interpretation 
by Consumers for Children's Sleep Environments

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: As required under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 
the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC or Commission) announces 
that CPSC has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a 
new proposed collection of information for a survey that will evaluate 
consumer awareness of infant sleep product warning labels. On December 
21, 2020, the CPSC published a notice in the Federal Register 
announcing the agency's intent to seek approval of this collection of 
information. After reviewing and considering the comments, the 
Commission announces that it has submitted to the OMB a request for 
approval of this collection of information. A copy of the proposed 
survey, ``Revised Supporting Statement'' titled Consumer Product Safety 
Commission: Warning Label Comprehension and Interpretation by Consumers 
for Children's Sleep Environments, is available at: www.regulations.gov 
under Docket No. CPSC-2020-0027, Supporting and Related Material.

DATES: Submit written or electronic comments on the collection of 
information by May 17, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection within 30 days of publication of this notice to: 
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.
    Find this particular information collection by selecting, 
``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments,'' or by 
using the search function. In addition, written comments that are sent 
to OMB also should be submitted electronically at: http://www.regulations.gov, under Docket No. CPSC-2020-0027.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cynthia Gillham, Consumer Product 
Safety Commission, 4330 East-West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; (301) 
504-7991, or by email to: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

    Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA; 44 U.S.C. 3501-
3520), federal agencies must obtain approval from OMB for each 
collection of information they conduct or sponsor. ``Collection of 
information'' is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c) and 
includes agency data-collection studies. The PRA establishes procedures 
agencies must follow to obtain OMB approval of a collection of 
information, including notice and a review of comments, among other 
procedures. Agencies must provide notice of the proposed collection of 
information in the Federal Register, and provide a 60-day comment 
period, before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. 44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A). Agencies then must evaluate any public

[[Page 19880]]

comments and publish another notice in the Federal Register. Id. 
3507(a)(1).
    In accordance with these procedures, on December 21, 2020, CPSC 
published a notice in the Federal Register announcing the agency's 
intent to seek approval of a new collection of information on a survey 
on Warning Label Comprehension and Interpretation by Consumers for 
Children's Sleep Environments. 85 FR 83066. Section D. Comments, below, 
summarizes and addresses the comments CPSC received.

B. Warning Label Comprehension Survey

    CPSC is authorized under section 5(a) of the Consumer Product 
Safety Act (CPSA), 15 U.S.C. 2054(a), to conduct studies and 
investigations relating to the causes and prevention of deaths, 
accidents, injuries, illnesses, other health impairments, and economic 
losses associated with consumer products. Section 5(b) of the CPSA, 15 
U.S.C. 2054(b), further provides that CPSC may conduct research, 
studies, and investigations on the safety of consumer products, or test 
consumer products and develop product safety test methods and testing 
devices.
    In 2019, the CPSC published the 2019 Nursery Product Annual Report, 
which reported injuries and deaths associated with nursery products 
among children younger than age 5.\1\ That report identified 320 deaths 
related to nursery products from 2014 through 2016. Infant sleep 
products were associated with the most deaths: Cribs/mattresses (33%), 
cradles/bassinets (18%), and playpens/play yards (20%). Also, in 2019, 
CPSC conducted a focus group of 48 participants to gather feedback from 
parents and grandparents (caregivers) on their beliefs, experience, and 
perceptions about infant sleeping practices and caregivers' compliance 
with safety messaging on nursery products. Caregiver responses in the 
focus group study indicated limited adherence to infant sleep safety 
warning messaging.\2\ Some of the reasons for lack of adherence to 
safety warnings include caregiver perceptions that warning labels 
contain repetitive, non-specific information that fails to target the 
safety hazard. Additionally, caregivers are inundated with safety 
messaging that changes constantly, resulting in ambiguity about what 
messages are most relevant and current. Product marketing and the 
proliferation of new products may confuse caregivers as well. 
Caregivers often end up listening to friends and family, or relying on 
past experience, to decide what behaviors are safe for their child, 
rather than follow the current guidelines recommended by experts. If 
caregivers are not attuned to the safety messaging on new products, 
they are more likely to use the products incorrectly.
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    \1\ https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/Nursery%20Products%20Annual%20Report%20Dec2019_2.pdf? 
TkU_cVyVv69sq6Lpx0aSRjoLomqXWxRq.
    \2\ https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewIC?ref_nbr=201909-3041-002&icID=234760.
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    Accordingly, CPSC seeks to learn more about consumers' 
understanding of specific warning labels related to products that may 
be used as a sleeping environment for infants and how those labels 
influence caregivers' behavior. In the proposed information collection, 
CPSC seeks to survey 650 caregivers to obtain information regarding the 
gap in consumer knowledge about product warning labels and consumer 
adherence to, and behaviors associated with, warning labels. The online 
survey will be conducted with caregivers age 18 and above, who are a 
parent or a grandparent with a child/grandchild from 2 months to 11 
months old.
    CPSC has contracted with Fors Marsh Group, LLC, to develop and 
execute this project for CPSC. If CPSC can obtain information through 
the survey about caregiver perceptions and comprehension of warning 
label language, CPSC will be able to identify better the types of 
safety warning labels and safety messaging that are unclear to the 
target audience, and that potentially serve as a barrier to safe sleep. 
Information obtained through this survey is not intended to be 
nationally representative. CPSC intends to use findings from this 
survey, in conjunction with findings from other research and 
activities, to assist with providing recommendations for refining and 
enhancing warning labels in the future.

C. Burden Hours

    We estimate the number of respondents to the survey to be 650. The 
online survey for the proposed study will take approximately 15 minutes 
(0.25 hours) to complete. We estimate the total annual burden hours for 
respondents to be 162.50 hours. The monetized hourly cost is $36.22, as 
defined by total compensation for all civilian workers, U.S. Bureau of 
Labor Statistics, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, as of March 
2020. Accordingly, we estimate the total cost burden to be $5,885.75 
(162.50 hours x $36.22). The total cost to the federal government for 
the contract to design and conduct the proposed survey is $150,987.

D. Comments

    CPSC received three comments in response to the notice of December 
21, 2020. All three commenters supported the information collection and 
made additional suggestions regarding the survey.
    One commenter recommended ensuring that ``at-risk populations'' 
will be included in the survey. This commenter also recommended that 
the pool of eligible responders be broadened to include other family 
members and childcare providers. The survey currently is designed to 
obtain a mix demographics of responders, including members of at-risk 
populations, but it does not have specific percentages of groups 
allocated. Since the information obtained through this project is not 
intended to be nationally representative, but rather, designed 
generally to inform CPSC about caregiver perceptions and comprehension 
of warning label language, CPSC believes the current design of mixed 
demographics is sufficient.
    The same commenter also recommended that the survey be conducted in 
multiple languages, use easy-to-understand language, and use pictures. 
The survey is already designed using clear, easy-to-understand 
language; however, pictograms are not used or contemplated in this 
survey. The use of pictograms would require a different type of survey, 
due to the need to test and verify the pictograms for 
understandability, and that is outside the scope of this survey. 
However, the CPSC may consider future surveys, with targeted audiences 
of interest, to obtain information that will help CPSC refine and 
optimize labels.
    Another commenter recommended that the messaging in the warnings 
should align with the American Academy of Pediatrics' (AAP) evidence-
based safe sleep recommendations that babies should be placed alone to 
sleep in a crib, bassinet, or play yard that meets current federal 
standards; on a firm, flat surface in their own space; and with no 
restraints or extra bedding. CPSC staff seeks to identify ways to 
increase caregiver understanding and adherence to infant product 
warning labels, which, in turn, may potentially reduce the incidence of 
infant sleep-related deaths in the future. Therefore, the warning 
messages on the example labels do not contradict AAP infant safe sleep 
recommendations. This commenter also stated that warning labels should 
not be used as substitutes for safe product design. CPSC staff agrees 
that in the hierarchy of safety, warnings are not a substitute for safe

[[Page 19881]]

product design, but when attached to infant products, warnings are 
useful, because they can serve to remind caregivers of the safety 
warnings while caregivers are using the products.
    A third commenter requested that the information provided in the 
survey clearly distinguish between products intended for overnight and 
unattended sleep, and those designed for other activities, including 
napping. CPSC agrees this distinction will help clarify the question 
for caregivers. Accordingly, CPSC has revised the following question in 
the survey: ``Which of the following product(s) do you use to put your 
infant to sleep'' into two separate questions: (1) Which of the 
following products do you use to put your infant to sleep overnight?; 
and (2) Which of the following products do you use to put your infant 
in for supervised use, including napping? In addition, CPSC has changed 
the references throughout the survey from: ``Warnings on Infant Sleep 
Products,'' to: ``Warnings on Infant Products,'' to cover warning 
labels that might be intended for overnight and unattended sleep, as 
well as infant products designed for other activities.
    This commenter also stated that asking responders a question about 
whether they ``like'' or ``dislike'' a warning label is inappropriate, 
and they suggested that it is more appropriate to ask about 
effectiveness of warning labels. CPSC agrees that seeking a response on 
the ``likeability'' of the warning label may not elicit a meaningful 
response. Accordingly, this question has been deleted from the survey. 
A copy of the proposed survey, ``Revised Supporting Statement'' titled 
Consumer Product Safety Commission: Warning Label Comprehension and 
Interpretation by Consumers for Children's Sleep Environments, is 
available at: www.regulations.gov under Docket No. CPSC-2020-0027, 
Supporting and Related Material.

Alberta E. Mills,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2021-07707 Filed 4-14-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P