[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 135 (Monday, July 19, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38100-38101]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-15230]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60Day-21-1244; Docket No. CDC-2021-0063]


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 an Extension of a 
previously approved information collection project titled Assessment of 
Occupational Injury among Fire Fighters Using a Follow-back Survey. The 
purpose of this project is to collect follow-back telephone interview 
data from injured and exposed firefighters treated in emergency 
departments (EDs) and produce a descriptive summary of these injuries 
and exposures.

DATES: CDC must receive written comments on or before September 17, 
2021.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2021-
0063 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;
    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; and
    5. Assess information collection costs.

Proposed Project

    Assessment of Occupational Injury among Fire Fighters Using a 
Follow-back Survey (OMB Control No. 0920-1244)--Extension--National 
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    Studies have reported that firefighters have high rates of non-
fatal injuries and illnesses as compared to the general worker 
population. As firefighters perform critical public safety activities 
and protect the safety and health of the public, it follows that 
understanding and preventing injuries and exposures among firefighters 
will have a benefit reaching beyond the workers to the public.
    As mandated in the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (Pub. 
L. 91-596), the mission of NIOSH is to conduct research and 
investigations on occupational safety and health. Related to this 
mission, the purpose of this project is to conduct research that will 
provide a detailed description of non-fatal occupational injuries and 
exposures incurred by firefighters. This information will offer 
detailed insight into events that lead to the largest number of 
nonfatal injuries and exposures among firefighters. The project will 
use two related data sources. The first source is data abstracted from 
medical records of firefighters treated in a nationally stratified 
sample of emergency

[[Page 38101]]

departments. These data are routinely collected through the 
occupational supplement to the National Electronic Injury Surveillance 
System (NEISS-Work). The second data source, for which NIOSH is seeking 
OMB approval, is responses to telephone interview surveys of the 
injured and exposed firefighters identified within NEISS-Work.
    The proposed one-year extension of the telephone interview surveys 
will supplement NEISS-Work data with a description of firefighter 
injuries and exposures, including worker characteristics, injury types, 
injury circumstances, injury outcomes, and use of personal protective 
equipment (PPE). Previous reports describing occupational injuries and 
exposures to firefighters provide limited details on specific regions 
or sub-segments of the population. As compared to these earlier 
studies, the scope of the telephone interview data will be broader, as 
it includes sampled cases nationwide, and has no limitations regarding 
type of employment (i.e., volunteer versus career). Results from 
telephone interviews will be analyzed and reported as a case series.
    The sample size for the telephone interview survey is estimated to 
be approximately 35 firefighters annually. This is based on the current 
survey completion rate of about 11%. While this completion rate is 
lower than originally expected, the project team still expects to gain 
additional insight to injuries and exposures that firefighters incur.
    The NIOSH Division of Safety Research (DSR) is conducting this 
project. DSR has a strong interest in improving surveillance of 
firefighter injuries and exposures, to provide the information 
necessary for effectively targeting and implementing prevention 
efforts, and consequently reducing occupational injuries and exposures 
to firefighters. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) will 
also contribute to this project, as they are responsible for 
coordinating the collection of all NEISS-Work data, and for overseeing 
the collection of all telephone interview data.
    NIOSH request approval for an estimated 18 burden hours annually. 
There is no cost to respondents other than their time.

                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                                                                      Average
                                                     Number of       Number of      burden per     Total burden
      Type of respondents           Form name       respondents    responses per   response (in     (in hours)
                                                                    respondent        hours)
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Firefighters..................  Firefighter                   35               1           30/60              18
                                 Follow-Back
                                 Survey.
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.....................  ................  ..............  ..............  ..............              18
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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. 2021-15230 Filed 7-16-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P