[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 188 (Friday, September 28, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55189-55190]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-4784]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Navy

[No. USN-2007-0048]


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DoD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirement of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 the Naval Health Research Center 
(NHRC), Department of the Navy, announces a new proposed public 
information collection and seeks public comment on the provisions 
thereof. 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 information collection; (c) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways 
to minimize the burden of the information collection on respondents, 
including through the use of automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology.

DATES: Consideration will be given to all comments received by November 
27, 2007.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number and 
title, by any of the following methods:
    <bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
    <bullet> Mail: Federal Docket Management System Office, 1160 
Defense Pentagon, Washington, DC 20301-1160.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency 
name, docket number and title for this Federal Register document. The 
general policy for comments and other submissions from members of the 
public is to make these submissions available for public viewing on the 
Internet at http://www.regulations.gov as they are received without 
change, including any personal identifiers or contact information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on this 
proposed information collection or to obtain a copy of the proposal and 
associated collection instruments, please write to Dr. Jerry Larson, 
Ph.D.; Head, Behavioral Science and Epidemiology Program, Naval Health 
Research Center; P.O. Box 85122 San Diego, CA 92186-5122; telephone 
619-553-8402 (this is not a toll-free number) or fax: 619553-8459.
    Title and OMB Number: Mental Health Issues Among Deployed 
Personnel: Longitudinal Assessment of the Resilience of Deployed 
Sailors and Marines--Follow-up; OMB Number 0703-TBD.
    Needs and Uses: The proposed study builds on an existing study 
assessing the prevalence of mental health outcomes among Sailors and 
Marines transitioning from the Service, and identifying predictors of 
and changes in mental health and resilience over time. DoD regulations 
stipulate that all military personnel must receive pre-separation 
counseling no less than 90 days before leaving active duty. Enlisted 
Sailors and Marines attending Transition Assistance Program (TAP) 
workshops were invited to participate in the current research. As part 
of the baseline component, TAP enrollees were surveyed at 12 
installations (8 Navy and 4 Marine Corps) during the Summer--Fall 2007 
time frame until the target sample size (N = 6000; 3000 in each 
Service) was obtained. Those respondents with high combat exposure will 
be assessed through a follow-on survey 6 months after separation from 
Military service, when participants have transitioned into civilian 
life.
    Affected Public: Navy and Marine Corps personnel who have separated 
from the Military in the six-month period following the baseline 
survey.
    Annual Burden Hours: 1800.
    Number of Respondents: 1800.
    Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Average Burden per Response: 1 hour.
    Frequency: One time.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Summary of Information Collection

    This study population is unique because there is a need for 
longitudinal mental health research in the Military that spans both 
Active Duty and the period of reintegration into civilian life after 
combat exposure. Through the study's longitudinal tracking of subjects 
after their return to civilian life, this will also be the first 
research effort to examine the prospective value of the recently 
implemented Post-Deployment Health Reassessment (PDHRA). Furthermore, 
with our access to the Career History Archival Medical and Personnel 
System (CHAMPS) database for personnel and medical records, it is 
possible to compare both confidential PDHRA responses obtained for 
research purposes with PDHRA responses obtained for official purposes 
to determine the degree of underreporting in this official screening 
effort. Findings will be used to better inform transition,

[[Page 55190]]

screening, and Combat Stress Control programs about the mental health 
needs of Active-Duty personnel, Reservists, and Veterans.
    The baseline questionnaire includes a Combat Exposure Scale used to 
estimate high combat exposure and to inform participants who exceed a 
predetermined score that they are eligible for the second phase of 
study and request their participation in the follow-up interviews. NHRC 
proposes tracking over time these respondents for the longitudinal 
portion of the study. Furthermore, the subsequent mental well-being of 
this high-risk cohort will be assessed through these new data collected 
6 months after the participants of the baseline survey have 
transitioned to civilian life. Data from extant historical personnel 
and medical data will also be combined with survey data to develop 
models that demonstrate the influence of combat, and a variety of 
covariates on mental health symptoms, resilience, and substance abuse. 
We estimate that approximately 1,800 of the 6,000 baseline participants 
will be eligible for and consent to participate in the 6 month follow-
up survey. In order to ensure that we can locate these respondents, the 
questionnaire will include name, relocation plans, names and contact 
information for two friends or relatives who always know where the 
respondent is living, and the respondent's date of birth and social 
security number. The follow-up surveys will be sent to respondents 
through the mail. Respondents will also have the option of completing 
this survey via the Web, which will closely simulate the hardcopy 
version of the instrument.
    Approximately 15% of Military personnel are women. Therefore, it is 
estimated that 15% will be the proportion of women completing the 
survey; the remaining 85% will be male respondents.

    Dated: September 21, 2007.
Patricia L. Toppings,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
[FR Doc. 07-4784 Filed 9-27-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 5001-06-M