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 a proposed and/or continuing information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This notice invites comment on Developmental Projects to Improve the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and Related Programs. This generic clearance request covers projects that will help evaluate and improve upon issues such as survey design and operations, as well as examine the feasibility and challenges that may arise with developing future content for the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) (OMB# 0920-0950, expires November 30, 2021) or similar studies.

DATES:

CDC must receive written comments on or before February 4, 2020.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2019-0108 by any of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Regulation.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
• Mail: Jeffrey M. Zirger, 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. CDC will post, without change, all relevant comments to Regulations.gov.

Please note: Submit all comments 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 Jeffrey M. Zirger, 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.

The OMB is particularly interested in comments that will help:

1. Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility;

2. Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;

3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and

4. Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submissions of responses.

5. Assess information collection costs.

Proposed Project

Developmental Projects to Improve the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and Related Programs, (OMB Control No. 0920-1208 Exp. Date 12/31/2020)—Revision—National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

Section 306 of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act (42 U.S.C. 242k), as amended, authorizes that the Secretary of Health and Human Services (DHHS), acting through NCHS, shall collect statistics on the extent and nature of illness and disability; environmental, social and other health hazards; and determinants of health of the population of the United States. The Division of Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (DHNES) has conducted national surveys and related projects periodically between 1970 and 1994, and continuously since 1999. The mission of DHNES programs is to produce descriptive statistics which measure the health and nutrition status of the general population. The continuous operation of DHNES programs presents unique challenges in testing new survey content and activities, such as outreach or participant screening etc.

This generic request covers developmental projects to help evaluate and enhance DHNES existing and proposed data collection activities to increase research capacity and improve data quality. The information collected through this Generic Information Collection Request will not be used to make generalizable statements about the population of interest or to inform public policy. However, methodological findings from these projects may be reported.

The purpose and use of projects under this NHANES generic clearance would include developmental projects necessary for activities such as; testing new procedures, equipment, technology and approaches that are going to be folded into NHANES or other NCHS programs; designing and testing examination components or survey questions; creating new studies including biomonitoring and clinical measures; creating new cohorts, including a pregnancy and/or a birth—24 month cohort; testing of the cognitive and interpretive aspects of survey methodology; feasibility testing of proposed new components or modifications to existing components; testing of human-computer interfaces/usability; assessing the acceptability of proposed NHANES components among likely participants; testing alternative approaches to existing NHANES procedures, including activities related to improving nonresponse; testing the use of or variations/adjustments in incentives; testing content of web based surveys; testing the feasibility of obtaining bodily fluid specimens (blood, urine, semen, saliva, breastmilk) and tissue sample (swabs); testing digital imaging technology and related procedures (e.g., retinal scan, liver ultrasound, Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA), prescription and over-the-counter dietary supplements bottles); testing the feasibility of and procedure/processes for accessing participant's medical records from healthcare settings (e.g., hospitals and physician offices); testing the feasibility and protocols for home examination measurements; testing survey materials and procedures to improve response rates, including changes to advance materials and protocols, changes to the incentive structure, introduction of new and timely outreach and awareness procedures including the use of social media; conducting crossover studies; creating and testing digital survey materials; and conducting customer satisfaction assessments.

The types of participants covered by the NHANES generic may include current or past NHANES participants; family or household members of NHANES participants; individuals eligible to be participants in NHANES, but who did not screen into the actual survey; convenience samples; volunteers; subject matter experts or consultants such as survey methodologist, academic researchers, clinicians or other health care providers; NHANES data or website users; members of the general public or individuals abroad who would be part of a collaborative development project or projects between NCHS and related public health agencies in the U.S. and/or abroad. The type of participant involved in a given developmental project would be determined by the nature of the project. The details of each project will be included in the specific GenIC submissions.

There is no cost to respondents other than their time. A three-year clearance is requested. The estimated annualized burden hours for this generic data collection is 59,465.