[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 28 (Friday, February 10, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8826-8827]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-02904]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary

[Docket ID: DoD-2023-HA-0014]


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs 
(OASD(HA)), Department of Defense (DoD).

ACTION: 60-Day information collection notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
OASD(HA) announces a proposed public information collection and seeks 
public comment on the provisions thereof. Comments are invited on: 
whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether 
the information shall have practical utility; the accuracy of the 
agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection; 
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the information 
collection on respondents, including through the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

DATES: Consideration will be given to all comments received by April 
11, 2023.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number and 
title, by any of the following methods:
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
    Mail: Department of Defense, Office of the Assistant to the 
Secretary of Defense for Privacy, Civil Liberties, and Transparency, 
4800 Mark Center Drive, Mailbox #24, Suite 08D09, Alexandria, VA 22350-
1700.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency 
name, docket number and title for this Federal Register document. The 
general policy for comments and other submissions from members of the 
public is to make these submissions available for public viewing on the 
internet at http://www.regulations.gov as they are received without 
change, including any personal identifiers or contact information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on this 
proposed information collection or to obtain a copy of the proposal and 
associated collection instruments, please write to Department of 
Defense, Washington Headquarters Services, ATTN: Executive Services 
Directorate, Directives Division, 4800 Mark Center Drive, Suite 03F09-
09, Alexandria, VA 22350-3100, Angela Duncan, 571-372-7574.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title; Associated Form; and OMB Number: Health Related Behaviors 
Survey; OMB Control Number 0720-HRBS.
    Needs and Uses: The Department of Defense's (DoD) Health Related 
Behaviors Survey (HRBS) is the largest population-based health survey 
of service members that collects self-report data on a number of 
important behavioral health issues affecting the wellbeing of active 
duty and reserve personnel. It provides a valuable snapshot of the 
overall behavioral health of the Force, both Active and Reserve 
Components, and alerts DoD leadership to areas of success, as well as 
areas where more attention--resources and policies--may be needed.
    The survey fulfills several DoD requirements. First, Department of 
Defense Instruction (DoDI) 1010.01, dated September 13, 2012, on the 
Military Personnel Drug Abuse Testing Program (MPDATP) states: 
``Targeted and periodic surveys will be conducted of DoD MPDATP policy 
and guidance'' (p. 9); the HRBS is the survey used for that 
documentation and to assess the effectiveness of DoD's Drug Demand 
Reduction Program (DDRP). Second, the HRBS permits comparisons between 
military populations in health behaviors over time. Importantly and 
contrary to other similar total force surveys in the military, the HRBS 
is a confidential survey conducted external to the DoD by a Federally 
Funded Research and Development Center. Thus, the HRBS has the 
advantage of reducing the possibility of underreporting of health 
behavior concerns associated with possible career impacts such as 
substance misuse. The items in the HRBS are informed directly by 
stakeholders and workgroups across the DoD who use the findings and 
data to respond to a variety of requests related to frequency of 
health-related problems in their services and health topic areas. The 
HRBS also allows for comparisons between military and civilian 
populations and can be used to assess progress with respect to 
identified goals and objectives for population health and well-being. 
For roughly the past 40 years, the Office of Disease Prevention and 
Health Promotion has developed a set of evidence-based objectives aimed 
at improving the health of American citizens. Benchmarks are 
established for 10-year cycles and the current set of goals is outlined 
in Healthy People 2030 (HP2030). DoDI 1010.10 states that it is 
Department policy to ``Support the achievement of the Department of 
Health and Human Services' vision for improving the health of all 
Americans as outlined in Healthy People 2020.'' Data from the HRBS 
facilitate comparisons to the updated HP2030 objectives. The 2023 
version of the HRBS will assess a number of topics, including substance 
use and abuse (i.e., alcohol, tobacco, and illicit substances), 
physical and mental health, suicide, mental health service utilization, 
sexual health, and current topical issues affecting readiness.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Annual Burden Hours: 7,367.
    Number of Respondents: 22,100.
    Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Annual Responses: 22,100.
    Average Burden per Response: 20 minutes.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Approximately 250,000 randomly selected active-duty service members 
from the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Space Force, and Coast 
Guard (excluding those at flag rank [07 and above] and trainees [e.g., 
students at military academies]) will be invited by both mail and email 
to participate in a

[[Page 8827]]

one-time, web-based, confidential survey. The survey, the HRBS, has 
been routinely fielded roughly every three years since 1980 and is 
DoD's flagship self-report survey on the health and health behaviors of 
service members. Sample members will receive an initial survey 
invitation via postal mail as well as via email. Over the course of 12 
weeks, respondents will receive one follow up postal letter and up to 
five reminder emails. These reminders are only sent to those sample 
members who have not yet completed the survey or opted out of 
notifications. The survey, which is web-based and can be taken on a 
desktop, laptop, or mobile device (e.g., smartphone, tablet), should 
take approximately 20 minutes to complete. Each respondent receives a 
unique identification code which will allow him/her to take the survey 
at a specified website. Once a respondent is finished, he/she submits 
the survey electronically. The survey will be administered by Westat, 
RAND's survey vendor. Westat will maintain and clean the responses and 
provide RAND with a final dataset. We expect roughly 22,100 completed 
surveys.

    Dated: February 7, 2023.
Aaron T. Siegel,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
[FR Doc. 2023-02904 Filed 2-9-23; 8:45 am]
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