[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 38 (Monday, February 27, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11541-11543]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-4557]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60Day-12-12EV]


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 
and send comments to Kimberly S. Lane, CDC Reports Clearance Officer, 
1600 Clifton Road MS-D74, Atlanta, GA 30333 or send an email to 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#deb1b3bc9ebdbabdf0b9b1a8"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="355a5857755651561b525a43">[email protected]</span></a>.
    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

    Ensuring compliance with the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standard 
among Non-Hospital Healthcare Facilities--New--National Institute for 
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 
healthcare workers sustain nearly 600,000 percutaneous injuries 
annually involving contaminated sharps. In

[[Page 11542]]

response to both the continued concern over such exposures and the 
technological developments which can increase employee protection, 
Congress passed the Needle-stick Safety and Prevention Act directing 
OSHA to revise the blood borne pathogens (BBP) standard to establish 
requirements that employers identify and make use of effective and 
safer medical devices. That revision was published on January 18, 2001, 
and became effective April 18, 2001.
    The revision to OSHA's blood-borne pathogens standard added new 
requirements for employers, including additions to the exposure control 
plan and maintenance of a sharps injury log.
    OSHA has determined that compliance with these standards 
significantly reduces the risk that workers will contract a blood-borne 
disease in the course of their work. However, blood-borne pathogens 
programs, policies, and standards for health care workers are based 
primarily on hospital data. Approximately one-half of the 11 million 
health care workers in the United States are employed in non-hospital-
based settings, such as physician offices, home healthcare agencies, 
correctional facilities, or dental offices and clinics. Little 
information is known about the risk management practices in these non-
hospital settings. A small study conducted by the National Institute 
for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) found that although seven of 
the eight correctional health care facilities visited had written 
exposure control plans, only two were reviewed and updated annually as 
required by the OSHA BBP Standard. One reason postulated for non-
compliance was that hospital-based standards, policies, and programs 
may not be appropriate to non-hospital settings. It is important to 
identify effective methods for using exposure control plans in non-
hospital settings and to verify whether the specificity and relevance 
of bloodborne pathogen training and educational materials for non-
hospital facilities can positively impact compliance in dental 
settings.
    The purposes of this proposal are to insure that bloodborne 
pathogens exposure control plans are effectively implemented in private 
dental offices and dental clinics, an important segment of the non-
hospital based healthcare system; and to understand how effective 
implementation strategies may be applied to other healthcare settings. 
The proposed work will draw on research-to-practice principles and will 
be assisted by a strong network of dental professional groups, trade 
associations, and government agencies. Specific objectives are to:
    (1) inventory existing exposure control plans in dental healthcare 
settings.
    (2) determine if the exposure control plan or other resource is 
actively used to prevent occupational exposures.
    (3) determine available resources and barriers to use such as 
relevant educational materials, knowledge, costs, availability, etc.
    (4) develop strategies to overcome key barriers to compliance.
    (5) report lessons learned applicable to the entire health sector.
    The Organization for Safety, Asepsis and Prevention (OSAP) is a 
unique group of dental educators and consultants, researchers, 
clinicians, industry representatives, and other interested persons with 
a collective mission to be the world's leading advocate for the safe 
and infection-free delivery of oral care. OSAP supports this commitment 
to dental workers and the public through quality education and 
information dissemination. OSAP's unique membership includes the 
variety of partners critical to gather the data on compliance with the 
OSHA bloodborne pathogens standard, identify barriers and develop 
strategies to overcome barriers to compliance.
    OSAP will be conducting a Web survey of private dental practices in 
the United States. Information collected will include current level of 
existing exposure control plans in various dental healthcare settings; 
whether the plan or other resource is actively used to prevent 
occupation exposures; available resources and barriers to use such as 
relevant education materials, knowledge, costs, and availability. OSAP 
is working with a publishing partner that has a double-opt-in email 
distribution list of 45,419 dentists. The dentists in the email list 
represent every state in the country. The list represents 32% of the 
total population of working dentists in the United States.
    The average open rate for this list is 12.76%, which would 
represent 5,768 dentists. The targeted number of completed 
questionnaires is estimated at about 566 (10% participation rate is 
assumed since there will be an incentive and one reminder). The survey 
is estimated to take about 10 minutes for respondents to complete.
    There are no costs to the respondents other than their time.

                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                      Average
                                                     Number of       Number of      burden per     Total burden
      Type of respondents           Form name       respondents    responses per   response  (in     (in hrs)
                                                                    respondent         hrs)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Private Dental Practices......  BBP Exposure                 566               1           10/60              94
                                 Control Plan
                                 Survey.
                                                                                 -------------------------------
    Total.....................  ................  ..............  ..............  ..............              94
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Kimberly S. Lane,
Reports Clearance Officer, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2012-4557 Filed 2-24-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P


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