Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations
Federal Register, Volume 78 Issue 34 (Wednesday, February 20, 2013)
Federal Register Volume 78, Number 34 (Wednesday, February 20, 2013)
Notices
Pages 11888-11889
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office www.gpo.gov
FR Doc No: 2013-03894
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
60-Day-13-0853
Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations
In compliance with the requirement of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 for opportunity for public comment on proposed data collection projects, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will publish periodic summaries of proposed projects. To request more information on the proposed projects or to obtain a copy of the data collection plans and instruments, call 404-639-7570 or send comments to Ron Otten, 1600 Clifton Road, MS-D74, Atlanta, GA 30333 or send an email to omb@cdc.gov.
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; and (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. Written comments should be received within 60 days of this notice.
Proposed Project
Asthma Information Reporting System (AIRS) (0920-0853, Expiration 06/30/2013)--Extension--National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Background and Brief Description
CDC is seeking a three-year extension of OMB approval for the AIRS information collection. In 1999, the CDC began developing its National Asthma Control Program, a population-based, public health approach to addressing the burden of asthma. The program supports the goals and objectives of ``Healthy People 2020'' for asthma and is based on the public health principles of surveillance, partnerships, and interventions. Through AIRS, the information collection request has and will continue to provide NCEH with routine information about the activities and performance of the state and territorial grantees funded under the National Asthma Control Program http://www.cdc.gov/asthma/nacp.htm.
The primary purpose of the National Asthma Control Program is to develop program capacity to address asthma from a public health perspective to bring about: (1) A focus on asthma-related activity within states; (2) an increased understanding of asthma-related data and its application to program planning and evaluation through the development and maintenance of an ongoing asthma surveillance system; (3) an increased recognition, within the public health structure of states, of the potential to use a public health approach to reduce the burden of asthma; (4) linkages of state health agencies to other agencies and organizations addressing asthma in the population; and (5) implementation of interventions to achieve positive health impacts, such as reducing the number of deaths, hospitalizations, emergency department visits, school or work days missed, and limitations on activity due to asthma.
The AIRS management information system is comprised of multiple components that enable the electronic reporting of three types of data/
information from state asthma control programs: (1) Information that is currently collected as part of interim (semi-annual) and end-of-year progress reporting, (2) Aggregate level reports of surveillance data on long-term program outcomes, and (3) Specific data indicative of progress made on: Partnerships, surveillance, interventions, and evaluation.
Prior to implementation of AIRS, data were collected on an interim (semi-annual) basis from state asthma control programs as part of regular reporting of cooperative agreement activities. States reported information such as progress-to-date on accomplishing intended objectives, programmatic changes, changes to staffing or management, and budgetary information.
Regular reporting this information is a requirement of the cooperative agreement mechanism utilized to fund state asthma control programs. States are asked to submit interim (semi-annual) and year-end progress report information into AIRS, thus this type of programmatic information on activities and objectives will continue to be collected twice per year (interim report and end-of-year report).
The National Asthma Control Program at CDC has access to and analyzes national-level asthma surveillance data (http://www.cdc.gov/asthma/asthmadata.htm). With the exception of data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), state level analyses cannot be performed. Therefore, as part of AIRS, state asthma control programs submit aggregate surveillance data to allow calculation of state asthma surveillance indicators across all funded states (where data is available) in a standardized manner. Data requests through this system regularly include: hospital discharges (with asthma as first listed diagnosis), and emergency department visits (with asthma as first listed diagnosis). Under AIRS, participating states annually submit this information to the AIRS system in conjunction with an end-of-year report describing state activities
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that meet project objectives described above.
National and state asthma surveillance data provide information useful to examine progress on long-term outcomes of state asthma programs. To identify appropriate indicators of program implementation and short-term outcomes for AIRS, CDC previously convened and facilitated workgroups comprised of state asthma control program representatives to generated specific questions to collect data on key features of state asthma control programs: partnerships, surveillance, interventions, and evaluation.
Since implementation in 2010 AIRS, and technical assistance provided by NCEH staff, has provided states with uniform data reporting methods and linkages to other states' asthma programs and data. Thus, AIRS has saved state resources and staff time when they embark on asthma activities similar to those being done elsewhere. Also, the AIRS system has been similarly helpful in linking states together on occasions when a given state seeks to report their results at national meetings or publish their findings and program results either in scholarly journals. For example, with CDC staff, three state programs co-presented on a panel regarding evaluations of their asthma partnerships at the November, 2012 American Evaluation Association's Evaluation 2012 conference.
In addition, CDC staff have regularly made requests from AIRS to obtain standardized summaries of state programs to obtain data summaries regarding such activities as the number of states meeting staffing requirements, number and timeliness of state strategic evaluation plans, topics for individual evaluation selected by states, types and targets of interventions, and use of asthma surveillance data in state programs.
Furthermore, access to standardized AIRS surveillance and programmatic data allows CDC to provide timely and accurate responses to the public and Congress regarding the NCEH asthma program (e.g., how many states have asthma interventions targeting schools, how many children are treated in emergency departments, etc.).
There will be no cost for respondents, other than their time, to participate in AIRS. The total estimated annual burden hours are 288.
Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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Average
Number of Number of burden per Total burden
Type of respondents Form name respondents responses per response (in (in hours)
respondent hours)
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State Health Departments...... Interim report 36 1 2 72
on activities
and objectives.
End-of-year 36 1 6 216
report on
activities,
objectives and
aggregate
surveillance.
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Total..................... ................ .............. .............. .............. 288
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Dated: February 12, 2013.
Ron A. Otten,
Director, Office of Scientific Integrity (OSI), Office of the Associate Director for Science (OADS), Office of the Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
FR Doc. 2013-03894 Filed 2-19-13; 8:45 am
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