[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 154 (Friday, August 9, 2013)]

[Notices]

[Page 48683]

From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [http://www.gpo.gov/]

[FR Doc No: 2013-19273]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[CDC-2013-0016; NIOSH 129-A]

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) 

Personal Protective Technology (PPT) Program; Framework Document for 

the Healthcare Worker Personal Protective Equipment Action Plan

AGENCY: The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 

(NIOSH) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice of draft document for public comment.

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SUMMARY: The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 

(NIOSH) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 

announces the availability of a document titled ``Framework for Setting 

the NIOSH PPT Program Action Plan for Healthcare Worker Personal 

Protective Equipment: 2013-2018'', now available for public comment at 

http://www.regulations.gov/.

DATES: Public comment period: Comments must be received by Friday, 

September 13, 2013.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by CDC-2013-0016 and 

Docket Number NIOSH-129-A, by either of the two following methods:

 Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov/. 

Follow the instructions for submitting comments.

 Mail: NIOSH Docket Office, Robert A. Taft Laboratories, 

MS-C34, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, Ohio 45226.

 Instructions: All information received in response to this notice 

must include the agency name and docket number (CDC-2013-0016; NIOSH129-A). All relevant comments received will be posted without change to 

http://www.regulations.gov/, including any personal information 

provided. All electronic comments should be formatted as Microsoft 

Word. Please make reference to CDC-2013-0016 and Docket Number NIOSH129-A. Access to any prior background documents or previous comments 

received please go to NIOSH Docket 129 (http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docket/archive/docket129.html).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NIOSH personal protective technology 

(PPT) program publishes and periodically updates its research agenda on 

personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers. The 

research agenda or action plan describes the near term and long term 

strategy for the PPT program's research and intervention, standards 

development, and information dissemination program to improve the 

efficacy and effectiveness of PPE used in healthcare settings. Since 

the healthcare worker PPE action plan was last updated in 2010 

(revision 4), several reports have been published that provide updated 

national priorities related to PPE for healthcare workers. For example, 

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in 2011, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) published a report entitled 

Preventing Transmission of Pandemic Influenza and Other Viral 

Respiratory Diseases: Personal Protective Equipment for Healthcare 

Personnel Update 2010 that assessed the nation's progress on improving 

PPE for healthcare personnel exposed to infectious respiratory diseases 

and made recommendations to address research gaps (to access this 

document please go to http://www.regulations.gov/).

 The NIOSH PPT program has started the process to update the PPE for 

healthcare workers action plan for 2013-2018. A framework document 

titled ``Framework for Setting the NIOSH PPT Program Action Plan for 

Healthcare Worker Personal Protective Equipment: 2013-2018'' has been 

drafted to:

 1. Identify proposed ``recommendations'' and ``activities'' to use 

in an updated healthcare worker PPE action plan;

 2. Compare current NIOSH intramural and extramural program 

activities versus the proposed recommendations and activities;

 3. Propose an overarching strategy for NIOSH PPT program management 

to prioritize among competing recommendations, activities, and future 

action steps; and

 4. Outline the process planned for seeking stakeholder input on 

what ``action steps'' should be taken by NIOSH and the NIOSH PPT 

program to address the recommendations.

 Comments are sought in three specific areas:

 1. Proposed use of the 2011 IOM report recommendations as the basis 

for the 12 overarching recommendations and 36 activities in next 

revision of the action plan;

 2. Proposed use of improving healthcare worker PPE compliance as 

the overarching goal for prioritization; and

 3. Specific actions that NIOSH and the NIOSH PPT program should 

take to address the proposed recommendations

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Ronald E. Shaffer, Senior 

Scientist, NIOSH NPPTL Office of the Director at RShaffer@cdc.gov, 

telephone (412) 386-4001, fax (412) 386-6617.

 Dated: August 2, 2013.

John Howard,

Director, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

[FR Doc. 2013-19273 Filed 8-8-13; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4163-19-P

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