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.

SUMMARY:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part of its continuing efforts to reduce public burden and maximize the utility of government information, 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. This notice invites comment on the Presidential Youth Fitness Program (PYFP) Evaluation. The Evaluation will be conducted in approximately 11 middle schools implementing the PYFP and 11 match comparison schools and will focus on both process and outcome measures.

DATES:

Written comments must be received on or before August 15, 2016.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2016-0052 by any of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
• Mail: Leroy A. Richardson, 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. All relevant comments received will be posted without change to Regulations.gov, including any personal information provided. For access to the docket to read background documents or comments received, go to Regulations.gov.

Please note:

All public comment should be submitted 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 the Information Collection Review Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE., MS-D74, Atlanta, Georgia 30329; phone: 404-639-7570; Email: omb@cdc.gov.

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 OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement, we are publishing this notice of a proposed data collection as described below.

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 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.

Proposed Project

Presidential Youth Fitness Program Evaluation—New—National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

It is well documented that obesity and a lack of physical activity (PA) among children and adolescents are current public health problems in the United States. Because school-aged children spend more than half of their waking hours in school and engage in 20%-30% of their total PA at school, schools are ideal settings for reaching a diverse cross-section of children with interventions to increase PA, including those children experiencing health disparities. This is particularly important in middle school, where research shows lower levels of physical activity when compared with younger students.

Evidence shows that multicomponent school-based physical education (PE) programs are effective at improving children's health and academic outcomes. Along with these improvements, school-based PE should provide fitness assessments, development of personal fitness plans, and improved cognitive understanding about the importance of PA and a healthy lifestyle. The Presidential Youth Fitness Program (PYFP) incorporates each of these factors. To replace normative-referenced fitness measures (i.e., the President's Challenge Youth Fitness Test), the PYFP has adopted a criterion-based assessment, using the FitnessGram® fitness measurement system, which compares each student's measurements to a set of standards for fitness and health. Each student can determine where he or she falls in relation to the standard and establish a goal for reaching or exceeding it. The PYFP also adds fitness education to PE, provides professional development for PE teachers, and includes a recognition system for students who achieve Healthy Fitness Zone standards.

In 2013, the Presidential Youth Fitness Program began its first round of funding to elementary, middle and high school PE teachers who applied to the program. A second round of funding began in 2014 and a third in 2015. Each participating school receives support to implement the PYFP for three years. The resources provided to PE teachers include: Professional development training, awards for student recognition of fitness achievements, access to a professional learning community and access to FitnessGram® fitness assessment software. For the schools selected to receive PYFP support, the requirements include: (1) Information Technology (IT) manager and PE teacher participation in the FitnessGram® software training, (2) PE teacher participation in PYFP professional development training, (3) conducting FitnessGram® assessments according to the training, (4) recognizing student achievement in fitness and physical activity, (5) confirming continued participation in the program at the end of Years 1 and 2, and (6) participating in evaluation activities. The PYFP is designed to supplement the traditional PE course and support physical education (PE) teachers in laying the foundation for students to lead an active life.

CDC plans to conduct the first rigorous evaluation of the PYFP. The evaluation will assess the impact of the program on student, PE teacher and school level outcomes (outcome evaluation) as well as barriers and facilitators to program implementation (process evaluation). Evaluation activities will take place in 11 schools implementing the PYFP and 11 match comparison schools, contributing a total of 82 sixth grade PE classes. Information collection will be conducted in 6 PYFP and 6 match comparison schools in Spring 2017 and 5 PYFP and 5 match comparison schools in Fall 2017. The PYFP schools recruited to participate in the PYFP Evaluation will be identified from a list of schools receiving Round 2 or Round 3 PYFP funding and meeting the following inclusion criteria: (1) Middle school with a sixth grade, (2) sixth grade enrollment of 150 or higher, (3) 50% or more of students receiving free or reduced lunch, and (4) documented completion of PYFP professional development training. Comparison schools will be matched based on criteria 1-3 above as well as location to ensure similar PE policies and standards. The process and outcome evaluation will involve data collection activities with four respondent groups: (1) Students, (2) PE teachers, (3) parents, and (4) school administrators.

The specific aims of the outcome evaluation are to examine how the PYFP impacts student fitness and physical activity, particularly how the program impacts student: (1) Fitness knowledge and health knowledge, (2) attitudes toward physical activity, (3) motivation to be physically active, (4) physical activity levels, and (5) fitness. Surveys to be conducted at all schools include the: (1) Paper-based PYFP Student Survey, (2) online PYFP PE Teacher Survey, and (3) online PYFP School Administrator Survey. There are minor differences in the survey instruments depending on whether the school is a PYFP participant or a non-PYFP school. The outcome evaluation will also determine the changes made as a result of the PYFP such as changes at the school level (e.g., improved PE and physical activity policies and practices, increased parent awareness of school PE and physical activity) and changes in PE teaching practices (e.g., integration of fitness education, increased use of fitness assessment tools and improved practices for fitness testing).

The outcome evaluation will include fitness assessments with approximately 2,460 students as part of the standard PE program (1,230 PYFP sixth grade students and 1,230 non-PYFP sixth grade students). Fitness assessments will be conducted at both the beginning and end of the semester using FitnessGram®'s pacer and body composition assessments. Finally, a subset of 6 PYFP and 6 match comparison schools will assess students' physical activity levels by collecting student accelerometry data. Accelerometry will be conducted in a subset of 25 PYFP and 25 non-PYFP classes to capture data from approximately 500 students (250 students from PYFP schools and 250 students from match comparison schools). Accelerometry data collection will involve wearing the device for a week at the beginning and a week at the end of semester and noting hours of wear time and class schedule.

Information collection for the process evaluation will be conducted only in the 11 PYFP schools. The aims of the process evaluation are to describe how PYFP resources were used by teachers and schools, the strategies used by teachers and schools to integrate fitness education and student recognition of fitness achievement into the schools, and barriers and facilitators relevant to PYFP implementation. All PYFP schools will complete cost and time use worksheets. In addition, focus groups with PE teachers, students, and parents will be conducted in a subset of 6 PYFP schools. Focus groups will take place on school grounds during or outside of the school day, depending on availability of a given respondent group.

The information collected for the PYFP evaluation will allow the CDC and partners to assess the impact of the PYFP compared with a traditional PE curriculum and gather information critical for program improvement.

OMB approval is requested for two years. Participation in the PYFP Evaluation is voluntary and there are no costs to respondents other than their time.