[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 62 (Thursday, April 1, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16485-16486]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-7369]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[30 Day--10-10AP]
Agency Forms Undergoing Paperwork Reduction Act Review
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publishes a
list of information collection requests under review by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction
Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). To request a copy of these requests, call
the CDC Reports Clearance Officer at (404) 639-5960 or send an e-mail
to [email protected]. Send written comments to CDC Desk Officer, Office of
Management and Budget, Washington, DC 20503 or by fax to (202) 395-
5806. Written comments should be received within 30 days of this
notice.
Proposed Project
Survey of Healthcare Workers' Health and Safety Practices--New--
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Background and Brief Description
The mission of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health (NIOSH) is to promote safety and health at work for all people
through research and prevention. Under Public Law 91-596, Sections 20
and 22, Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, NIOSH has the
responsibility to conduct research to advance the health and safety of
workers. In this capacity, NIOSH will conduct a Web-based survey that
will provide important hazard and exposure surveillance data that is
currently unavailable for healthcare workers.
[[Page 16486]]
Healthcare workers represent over 8% of the U.S. workforce with
many occupations projected to substantially grow in the next ten years.
Healthcare workers experience higher rates of illness and injury as
compared to workers in other industries and are at increased risk for
many of the types of adverse health effects potentially caused by
exposure to hazardous chemical agents. The proposed hazard surveillance
survey will provide important information on work practices associated
with the use of important classes of hazardous chemical agents
including antineoplastic agents, anesthetic gases, aerosolized
medications, chemical sterilants, high level disinfectants and surgical
smoke. This voluntary survey is the first of its kind by the Federal
government. The data collected will allow NIOSH to describe the range
of health and safety practices and the types of exposure controls used
by healthcare workers by hazard, occupation, and type and size of work
setting. The study population for this survey includes members of 22
professional organizations who represent healthcare workers in many
occupations which use or are exposed to these chemical agents. Each of
the 22 participating professional organizations will be responsible for
implementing the sampling approach developed by NIOSH and sending
invitation and reminder emails to sampled members. The sample size for
the survey is estimated to be 25,650 healthcare workers. NIOSH will use
the data to guide interventions and future research. Participating
professional organizations plan to use the data for benchmarking,
identifying areas for expanding guidelines and for health and safety
promotion.
The proposed survey is modular in design and will be only available
on-line. The survey includes a screening module, separate chemical
hazard modules addressing the previously mentioned hazardous chemical
agents, and a core module which gathers information on a broad range of
health and safety issues affecting healthcare workers. The web survey
will present the modules to respondents in a seamless manner.
Depending on the size of the participating professional
organization, all members or a random sample of members will be sent an
email by their organization which will contain a link to the survey.
Initially, respondents will complete a screening module which will
determine whether they are eligible for the survey. The eligibility
criteria is, they must have used or have come in contact with one or
more of the hazardous chemical agents within the past week. If
eligible, the respondent would complete the appropriate hazard module
(e.g., oncology nurses would complete hazard module on administration
of antineoplastic agents) and the core module. A second hazard module
may also be completed if additional chemical agents were used in the
past week. Respondents will not be asked to report their names or any
other identifying information.
The project supports NIOSH's surveillance strategic goal which is
to advance the usefulness of surveillance information for the
prevention of occupational illnesses, injuries and hazards. Further,
the goal seeks to actively promote the dissemination and use of NIOSH
surveillance data and information.
Once the study is completed, results will be made available via
various means including the NIOSH Internet site. NIOSH expects to
complete data collection no later than spring of 2011. There is no cost
to respondents other than their time. The total estimated annual burden
hours are 11,140.
Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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Number of Avg. burden
Type of respondent Activity or form name Number of responses per per response
respondents respondent (in hours)
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Professional Organization............. Implement NIOSH sampling 22 1 5
approach; send
invitation and reminder
emails to sampled
members.
Healthcare Workers.................... Screening module........ 25,650 1 1/60
Primary hazard module... 20,520 1 10/60
Core module............. 20,520 1 20/60
Secondary hazard module. 2,052 1 10/60
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Dated: March 25, 2010.
Maryam I. Daneshvar,
Acting Reports Clearance Officer, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2010-7369 Filed 3-31-10; 8:45 am]
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