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 Report of Verified Case of Tuberculosis (RVCT). These data are routinely collected in the operation of Tuberculosis control programs.

DATES:

Written comments must be received on or before October 24, 2016.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2016-0084 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

Report of Verified Case of Tuberculosis (RVCT), (OMB Control No. 0920-0026, Expiration 3/31/2017)—Extension—National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC).

Background and Brief Description

In the United States, an estimated 10 to 15 million people are infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis and about 10% of these persons will develop tuberculosis (TB) disease at some point in their lives. The purpose of this project is to continue ongoing national tuberculosis surveillance using the standardized Report of Verified Case of Tuberculosis (RVCT). Data collected using the RVCT help state and federal infectious disease officials to assess changes in the diagnosis and treatment of TB, monitor trends in TB epidemiology and outbreaks, and develop strategies to meet the national goal of TB elimination.

CDC currently conducts and maintains the national TB surveillance system (NTSS) pursuant to the provisions of Section 301 (a) of the Public Service Act [42 U.S.C. 241] and Section 306 of the Public Service Act [42 U.S.C. 241(a)]. Data are collected by 60 reporting areas (the 50 states, the District of Columbia, New York City, Puerto Rico, and 7 jurisdictions in the Pacific and Caribbean). The last major revision of the RVCT data collection instrument was approved in 2009, in consultation with CDC's Division of Tuberculosis Elimination (DTBE), state and local health departments, and partner organizations including the National TB Controllers Association, the Council for State and Territorial Epidemiologists, and the Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Tuberculosis. No revisions to the RVCT are proposed in this data collection extension request.

CDC publishes an annual report using RVCT data to summarize national TB statistics and also periodically conducts special analyses for publication to further describe and interpret national TB data. These data assist in public health planning, evaluation, and resource allocation. Reporting areas also review and analyze their RVCT data to monitor local TB trends, evaluate program success, and focus resources to eliminate TB.

No other Federal agency collects this type of national TB data.

In addition to providing technical assistance on the use of RVCT, CDC provides technical support for reporting software.

CDC seeks to request OMB approval to continue with collection of this data. The collection involves approximately 5,496 burden hours, an estimated decrease of 350 hours from 2014. This decrease is due to having fewer TB cases in the United States as we continue progress towards TB elimination.

There is no cost to respondents except for their time.