60 day FRN

54983

Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 178 / Monday, September 15, 2014 / Notices
ESTIMATED ANNUALIZED BURDEN HOURS—Continued
Type of
respondents

Number of
respondents

Form name

Self-reported specific job tasks and safety incidents ...
Self-reported general work environment and Health ....
Informed Consent Form (Overall Study) ......................
Early Exit Interview .......................................................

Leroy A. Richardson,
Chief, Information Collection Review Office,
Office of Scientific Integrity, Office of the
Associate Director for Science, Office of the
Director, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2014–21881 Filed 9–12–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163–18–P

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention
[60-Day–14–14AYC]

tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

Proposed Data Collections Submitted
for Public Comment and
Recommendations
The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), as part of its
continuing effort to reduce public
burden, 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. To
request more information on the below
proposed project or to obtain a copy of
the information collection plan and
instruments, call 404–639–7570 or send
comments to Leroy A. Richardson, 1600
Clifton Road, MS–D74, Atlanta, GA
30333 or send an email to [email protected].
Comments submitted in response to
this notice will be summarized and/or
included in the request for Office of
Management and Budget (OMB)
approval. Comments are invited on: (a)
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;
(b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate
of the burden of the proposed collection
of information; (c) ways to enhance the
quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; (d) ways to
minimize the burden of the collection of
information on respondents, including
through the use of automated collection
techniques or other forms of information
technology; and (e) estimates of capital

VerDate Mar<15>2010

17:10 Sep 12, 2014

Jkt 232001

or start-up costs and costs of operation,
maintenance, and purchase of services
to provide information. Burden means
the total time, effort, or financial
resources expended by persons to
generate, maintain, retain, disclose or
provide information to or for a Federal
agency. This includes the time needed
to review instructions; to develop,
acquire, install and utilize technology
and systems for the purpose of
collecting, validating and verifying
information, processing and
maintaining information, and disclosing
and providing information; to train
personnel and to be able to respond to
a collection of information, to search
data sources, to complete and review
the collection of information; and to
transmit or otherwise disclose the
information. Written comments should
be received within 60 days of this
notice.
Proposed Project
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance
System (BRFSS)—Existing Collection In
Use Without an OMB Control Number—
National Center for Chronic Disease
Prevention and Health Promotion
(NCCDPHP)—Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC).
Background and Brief Description
CDC seeks OMB approval to collect
information through the Behavioral Risk
Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS).
The BRFSS is a system of customized
telephone surveys conducted by U.S.
states, territories, and the District of
Columbia to produce state-level data
about health-related risk behaviors,
chronic health conditions, use of
preventive services, and emerging
health issues. Information collection is
conducted primarily to support state
and local health departments, which
plan and evaluate public health
programs at the state or sub-state level.
Information collected through the
BRFSS is also used by the federal
government and other entities.
Scientific research shows that
personal health behaviors play a major
role in premature morbidity and
mortality. Patterns of behavior that
affect health or predict adverse effects

PO 00000

Frm 00029

Fmt 4703

Sfmt 4703

960
960
960
106

Number of
responses per
respondent
4.5
1.5
.5
.5

Average
burden per
response
(in hrs.)
5/60
10/60
5/60
5/60

on health are called behavioral risk
factors. For example, lack of physical
activity is a behavioral risk factor for
obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular
diseases, and other diseases and
conditions. Although national estimates
of some health risk behaviors among
U.S. populations are available, the
methods used to produce national
estimates do not typically produce the
type of detailed information needed to
plan and implement public health
programs; moreover, national estimates
provide only limited insight into
regional or state-specific variability in
health status and risk factors.
Information that is specific to public
health jurisdictions is required to guide
the administration of public health
programs.
CDC is requesting OMB approval to
conduct information collection for the
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance
System (BRFSS). The BRFSS is a
nationwide system of cross-sectional
telephone health surveys administered
by health departments in states,
territories, and the District of Columbia
(collectively referred to as states) in
collaboration with CDC. The BRFSS
produces state-level information
primarily on health risk behaviors,
health conditions, and preventive health
practices that are associated with
chronic diseases, infectious diseases,
and injury. Information collection is
sponsored by CDC under the BRFSS
cooperative agreement with states and
territories. Under this partnership,
questionnaire content is determined by
BRFSS state coordinators with technical
and methodological assistance provided
by CDC. The BRFSS is designed to meet
the data needs of individual states and
territories. For most states and
territories, the BRFSS provides the only
sources of data amenable to state and
local level health and health risk
indicators. Over time it has also
developed into an important data
collection system that federal agencies
rely on for state and local health
information and to track national health
objectives such as Healthy People.
Therefore, although the BRFSS remains
primarily a state needs-driven system,

E:\FR\FM\15SEN1.SGM

15SEN1

54984

Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 178 / Monday, September 15, 2014 / Notices

in consultation with OMB, CDC is
requesting OMB approval of BRFSS data
collection beginning with the 2015
cycle.
The BRFSS questionnaire is
comprised of two parts: The core
questionnaire and optional modules.
The BRFSS core questionnaire consists
of fixed core, rotating core, and
emerging core questions. Fixed core
questions are asked every year. Rotating
core questions cycle on and off the core
questionnaire during even or odd years,
depending on the question. Emerging
core questions are included in the core
questionnaire as needed to collect data
on urgent or emerging health topics
such as influenza. Optional modules are
offered by CDC annually depending on
data needs and funding availability. In
off-years when the rotating questions are
not included in the core questionnaire,
they are offered to states as an optional
module.
All participating states are required to
administer the core questionnaire,
which provides a set of shared health
indicators for all BRFSS partners. The
current estimated average burden per
interview is 15 minutes for the core.
States may select which, if any, optional
modules to administer. These modules
provide the information needed for
state-specific public health assessments
and program planning. The estimated
average burden per response varies by
state and year, but is currently estimated
at 15 minutes for the optional
component. In order to maintain
consistency, the states and CDC set
standard protocols for BRFSS data
collection which all states are
encouraged to adopt. These standards
allow for state-to-state data comparisons
as well as comparisons over time. The
BRFSS allows states to customize some

monitor trained interviewers. States
submit information to CDC monthly, or
quarterly with an approved exception.
The CDC provides post-data collection
technical assistance including data
cleaning and weighting as well as
production of data quality and user
reports.
CDC also makes BRFSS data sets
available for public use and provides
guidance on statistically appropriate
uses of the data. Due to the variety and
complexity of data collection methods
employed, CDC and states frequently
collaborate on methodological issues to
improve the quality and efficiency of
information collection and analysis.
CDC plans to submit one or more
additional information collection
requests to OMB that will establish the
clearance mechanism(s) needed to
support new areas of interest, quality
improvement, and innovation (such as
protocol enhancements, requests for
methodological studies and cognitive
testing of new questions). OMB
approval for state- and territory-specific
BRFSS questionnaires is requested for
three years. CDC’s authority to collect
this information is provided by the
Public Health Service Act. Data
obtained from the BRFSS surveys will
allow states, CDC, policy makers, and
other data users to track state and
nationwide trends in the burden of
disease, prioritize the allocation of
health resources, plan and implement
targeted public health interventions,
and set and track progress towards
meeting objectives for improving health,
including selected Healthy People 2020
targets.
Participation in the BRFSS is
voluntary and there are no costs to
respondents other than their time.

portions of the questionnaire through
the addition of state-added questions,
which are neither reviewed nor
approved by the CDC, and meet the
specific data needs of individual state
health departments.
The CDC and BRFSS partners produce
a new set of state-specific BRFSS
questionnaires each calendar year (i.e.,
2015 BRFSS questionnaires, 2016
BRFSS questionnaires, etc.). Each state
administers its BRFSS questionnaire
throughout the calendar year. In
response to unanticipated public health
needs, limited modifications may be
incorporated mid-cycle. The BRFSS
partnership thus results in a flexible,
coordinated information collection
system that is adaptive to national and
state-specific needs.
Each state’s data collection plan uses
two samples: one for landline telephone
respondents and one for cellular
telephone respondents. States obtain
samples of telephone numbers from
CDC. For persons interviewed on
landline telephones, individual
respondents will be randomly selected
from all adults, aged 18 years and older,
living in a household. Cellphone
interviews will be conducted with
respondents who answer the number
called and are treated as one-person
households.
Computer-assisted telephone
interviewing (CATI) programming is
provided by the CDC to states to convert
the BRFSS questionnaire into a CATI
interface from which interviewers will
read and record answers to each
question. States may opt to use their
own CATI programming software. States
must develop and maintain procedures
to ensure respondents’ privacy, assure
and document the quality of the
interviewing process, and supervise and

ESTIMATED ANNUALIZED BURDEN HOURS
Number of
responses per
respondent

Average
burden per
response
(in hr)

Total burden
(in hr)

Form name

U.S. General Population ...................

Landline Screener ............................
Cell Phone Screener ........................
Core Survey .....................................
Optional Modules .............................

440,486
223,334
494,650
484,757

1
1
1
1

1/60
1/60
15/60
15/60

7,341
3,722
123,662
121,189

...........................................................

........................

........................

........................

255,914

Adults > 18 Years .............................
Total ...........................................

tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

Number of
respondents

Type of respondents

Leroy A. Richardson
Chief, Information Collection Review Office,
Office of Scientific Integrity, Office of the
Associate Director for Science, Office of the
Director, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2014–21909 Filed 9–12–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163–18–P

VerDate Mar<15>2010

17:10 Sep 12, 2014

Jkt 232001

PO 00000

Frm 00030

Fmt 4703

Sfmt 9990

E:\FR\FM\15SEN1.SGM

15SEN1