Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for Office of Management and Budget Review; Comment Request; Testing Communications on Biological Products

AGENCY:

Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing that a proposed collection of information has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES:

Fax written comments on the collection of information by February 28, 2011.

ADDRESSES:

To ensure that comments on the information collection are received, OMB recommends that written comments be faxed to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attn: FDA Desk Officer, FAX: 202-395-7285, or e-mailed to oira_submission@omb.eop.gov. All comments should be identified with the OMB control number 0910—New and title “Testing Communications on Biological Products.” Also include the FDA docket number found in brackets in the heading of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Johnny Vilela, Office of Information Management, Food and Drug Administration, 1350 Piccard Dr., PI50-400B, Rockville, MD 20850, 301-796-7651, Juanmanuel.vilela@fda.hhs.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

In compliance with 44 U.S.C. 3507, FDA has submitted the following proposed collection of information to OMB for review and clearance.

Testing Communications on Biological Products—(OMB Control Number 0910—New)

FDA is authorized by section 1003(d)(2)(D) of the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 393(d)(2)(D)) (Attachment 2) to conduct educational and public information programs relating to the safety of regulated biological products. FDA must conduct needed research to ensure that such programs have the highest likelihood of being effective. FDA expects that improving communications about biological products including vaccines and blood products will involve many research methods, including individual in-depth interviews, mall-intercept interviews, focus groups, self-administered surveys, gatekeeper reviews, and omnibus telephone surveys.

The information collected will serve three major purposes. First, as formative research it will provide critical knowledge needed about target audiences to develop messages and campaigns about biological product use. Knowledge of consumer and healthcare professional decisionmaking processes will provide the better understanding of target audiences that FDA needs to design effective communication strategies, messages, and labels. These communications will aim to improve public understanding of the risks and benefits of using biological products including vaccines and blood products by providing users with a better context in which to place risk information more completely.

Second, as initial testing, it will allow FDA to assess the potential effectiveness of messages and materials in reaching and successfully communicating with their intended audiences. Testing messages with a sample of the target audience will allow FDA to refine messages while still in the developmental stage. Respondents will be asked to give their reaction to the messages in either individual or group settings.

Third, as evaluative research, it will allow FDA to ascertain the effectiveness of the messages and the distribution method of these messages in achieving the objectives of the message campaign. Evaluation of campaigns is a vital link in continuous improvement of communications at FDA.

In the Federal Register of October 5, 2010 (75 FR 61492), FDA published a 60-day notice requesting public comment on the proposed collection of information. No comments were received on the information collection.

FDA estimates the burden of this collection of information as follows: