[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 191 (Wednesday, October 4, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68616-68619]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-21915]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality


Supplemental Evidence and Data Request on Mental Health and 
Occupational Stress in the Emergency Medical Service and 911 Workforce

AGENCY: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), HHS.

ACTION: Request for supplemental evidence and data submissions.

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SUMMARY: The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is 
seeking scientific information submissions from the public. Scientific 
information is being solicited to inform our review on Mental Health 
and Occupational Stress in the Emergency Medical Service and 911 
Workforce, which is currently being conducted by the AHRQ's Evidence-
based Practice Centers (EPC) Program. Access to published and 
unpublished pertinent scientific information will improve the quality 
of this review.

DATES: Submission Deadline on or before November 3, 2023.

ADDRESSES: 
    Email submissions: [email protected].
    Print submissions:

Mailing Address: Center for Evidence and Practice Improvement, Agency 
for Healthcare Research and Quality, ATTN: EPC SEADs Coordinator, 5600 
Fishers Lane, Mail Stop 06E53A, Rockville, MD 20857
Shipping Address (FedEx, UPS, etc.): Center for Evidence and Practice 
Improvement, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, ATTN: EPC 
SEADs Coordinator, 5600 Fishers Lane, Mail Stop 06E77D, Rockville, MD 
20857

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kelly Carper, Telephone: 301-427-1656 
or Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Agency for Healthcare Research and 
Quality has commissioned the Evidence-based Practice Centers (EPC) 
Program to complete a review of the evidence for Mental Health and 
Occupational Stress in the Emergency Medical Service and 911 Workforce. 
AHRQ is conducting this review pursuant to Section 902 of the Public 
Health Service Act, 42 U.S.C. 299a.
    The EPC Program is dedicated to identifying as many studies as 
possible that are relevant to the questions for each of its reviews. In 
order to do so, we are supplementing the usual manual and electronic 
database searches of the literature by requesting information from the 
public (e.g., details of studies conducted). We are looking for studies 
that report on Mental Health and Occupational Stress in the Emergency 
Medical Service and 911 Workforce. The entire research protocol is 
available online at: https://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/products/ems-911-workforce-mental-health/protocol.
    This is to notify the public that the EPC Program would find the 
following information on Mental Health and Occupational Stress in the 
Emergency Medical Service and 911 Workforce helpful:
    [ssquf] A list of completed studies that your organization has 
sponsored for this topic. In the list, please indicate whether results 
are available on ClinicalTrials.gov along with the ClinicalTrials.gov 
trial number.
    [ssquf] For completed studies that do not have results on 
ClinicalTrials.gov, a summary, including the following elements, if 
relevant: study number, study period, design, methodology, indication 
and diagnosis, proper use instructions, inclusion and exclusion 
criteria, primary and secondary outcomes, baseline characteristics, 
number of patients screened/eligible/enrolled/lost to follow-up/
withdrawn/analyzed, effectiveness/efficacy, and safety results.
    [ssquf] A list of ongoing studies that your organization has 
sponsored for this topic. In the list, please provide the 
ClinicalTrials.gov trial number or, if the trial is not registered, the 
protocol for the study including, if relevant, a study number, the 
study period, design, methodology, indication and diagnosis, proper use 
instructions, inclusion and exclusion criteria, and primary and 
secondary outcomes.
    [ssquf] Description of whether the above studies constitute ALL 
Phase II and above clinical trials sponsored by your organization for 
this topic and an index outlining the relevant information in each 
submitted file.
    Your contribution is very beneficial to the Program. Materials 
submitted must be publicly available or able to be made public. 
Materials that are considered confidential; marketing materials; study 
types not included in the review; or information on topics not included 
in the review cannot be used by the EPC Program. This is a voluntary 
request for information, and all costs for complying with this request 
must be borne by the submitter.
    The draft of this review will be posted on AHRQ's EPC Program 
website and available for public comment for a period of 4 weeks. If 
you would like to be notified when the draft is posted, please sign up 
for the email list at: https://www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/email-updates.
    The review will answer the following questions. This information is 
provided as background. AHRQ is not requesting that the public provide 
answers to these questions.

Key Questions (KQ)

    KQ 1: What are the incidence, prevalence, and severity of mental 
health issues (depression, anxiety, PTSD, suicidality, and substance 
use disorders) and occupational stress issues (burnout, stress, and 
moral injury) among the EMS and the 911 workforce?
    a. Are the incidence, prevalence, and severity modified by:
    i. Agency composition including workflow, regulations, financing?
    ii. Characteristics of EMS and 911 personnel (e.g., education/
training, proficiency, experience, trauma exposure)?
    iii. Physical and mental health resources?
    KQ 2: What are the effectiveness and comparative effectiveness, 
including benefits and harms, of interventions addressing mental health 
issues (depression, anxiety, PTSD, suicidality, and substance use 
disorders) and occupational stress issues (burnout, stress, and moral 
injury) among the EMS and 911 workforce?
    a. Are the effectiveness of the interventions modified by:
    i. Intervention type?
    ii. Characteristics of EMS and 911 personnel (e.g., education/
training, proficiency, experience)?
    iii. EMS/911 agency characteristics including workflow, 
regulations, financing?
    iv. Physical and mental health resources?
    KQ 3: What are the context and implementation factors of studies 
with effective EMS/911 workforce practices to prevent, recognize and 
treat mental health issues (depression, anxiety, PTSD, suicidality, and 
substance use disorders) and occupational stress issues (burnout, 
stress, and moral

[[Page 68617]]

injury)? This description might include distinguishing factors such as 
workforce training, surveillance, resilience training, occupational 
health services, peer-to-peer support, preparedness for trauma 
exposure, and program funding.
    KQ 4: What future research is needed to close existing evidence 
gaps regarding preventing, recognizing, and treating mental health 
issues (depression, anxiety, PTSD, suicidality, and substance use 
disorders) and occupational stress issues (burnout, stress, and moral 
injury) in the EMS/911 workforce?
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    Dated: September 28, 2023.
Marquita Cullom,
Associate Director.
[FR Doc. 2023-21915 Filed 10-3-23; 8:45 am]
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