sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES

Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 52 / Friday, March 17, 2006 / Notices 13853 

or other forms of information 

technology. Written comments should 

be received within 60 days of this 

notice. 

Proposed Project 

Supplement to the National Birth 

Defects Prevention Study: Qualitative 

Assessment of the Attitudes Mothers 

Have Toward Collecting Biological 

Specimens on their Infants and Young 

Children to Study Risk Factors for Birth 

Defects and Preterm Delivery—New— 

National Center on Birth Defects and 

Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD), 

Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention (CDC). 

Background and Brief Description 

National Center on Birth Defects and 

Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD), 

Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention (CDC), has been conducting 

the National Birth Defects Prevention 

Study (NBDPS) (OMB# 0920–0010) 

since 1997. The NBDPS is a case-control 

study of major birth defects that 

includes cases identified from existing 

birth defect surveillance registries in 

nine states, including metropolitan 

Atlanta. Control infants are randomly 

selected from birth certificates or birth 

hospital records. Mothers of case and 

control infants are interviewed using a 

computer-assisted telephone interview. 

Parents are asked to collect cheek cells 

from themselves and their infants for 

DNA testing. Information gathered from 

both the interviews and the DNA 

specimens will be used to study 

independent genetic and environmental 

factors as well as gene-environment 

interactions for a broad range of 

carefully classified birth defects. 

This proposed supplement to the 

National Birth Defects Prevention Study 

will use qualitative research to provide 

data on the barriers to participation in 

the collection of biological specimens 

by mothers on themselves, their infants, 

and young children. It is costly to 

implement the collection of biological 

specimens into an interview/ 

questionnaire-based study. However, an 

ever-increasing number of studies 

include the examination of 

environmental and genetic interactions 

to help medical and public health 

professional’s better target appropriate 

interventions. A critical component for 

studies of gene variants is the collection 

of biological specimens. Participation 

and non-participation in the collection 

of biological specimens is not fully 

understood. We will conduct multiple 

well-designed focus groups to assess the 

attitudes of both mothers who 

participated and mothers who did not 

participate in the collection of biological 

specimens to increase the effectiveness 

ESTIMATED ANNUALIZED BURDEN 

of these studies. This information will 

be useful to many groups at the CDC 

who are currently collecting biological 

specimens from infants and their 

families but with less than optimal 

response rates and those who are 

working to implement studies that 

include the use of biological specimens. 

Scientists from the National Birth 

Defects Prevention Study in NCBDDD, 

the Pregnancy Risk Assessment 

Monitoring System (PRAMS) in 

National Center for Chronic Disease 

Prevention and Health Promotion 

(NCCDPHP), and Office of Genomics 

and Disease Prevention (OGDP) have 

received Collaborative Initiative 

intramural funding to conduct focus 

groups aimed at gaining insight into the 

barriers and motivations women have 

for participating in the collection of 

biological specimens. Among the three 

collaborating Centers within the 

Coordinating Center for Health 

Promotion, NCBDDD’s National Birth 

Defects Prevention Study provides a 

unique opportunity for exploring the 

barriers and motivations toward 

collection of genetic material. This focus 

group project will recruit mothers who 

participated in the maternal interview 

for the NBDPS. There are no costs to the 

respondents other than their time to 

participate in the survey. 

Instrument Number of 

respondents 

Frequency of 

response 

Average burden/response 

(in hours) 

Annual burden 

hours 

Telephone Contact ........................................................................................ 

Focus Group Discussion ............................................................................... 

90 

45 

1 

1 

5/60 

2 

7 .5 

90 

Dated: March 12, 2006. 

Joan F. Karr, 

Acting Reports Clearance Officer, Centers for 

Disease Control and Prevention. 

[FR Doc. E6–3916 Filed 3–16–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4163–18–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention 

Decision To Evaluate a Petition To 

Designate a Class of Employees at the 

Nevada Test Site, Mercury, Nevada, To 

Be Included in the Special Exposure 

Cohort 

AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention (CDC), Department of Health 

and Human Services (HHS). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Health and 

Human Services (HHS) gives notice as 

required by 42 CFR 83.12(e) of a 

decision to evaluate a petition to 

designate a class of employees at the 

Nevada Test Site, Mercury, Nevada, to 

be included in the Special Exposure 

Cohort under the Energy Employees 

Occupational Illness Compensation 

Program Act of 2000. The initial 

proposed definition for the class being 

evaluated, subject to revision as 

warranted by the evaluation, is as 

follows: 

Facility: Nevada Test Site. 

Location: Mercury, Nevada. 

Job Titles and/or Job Duties: Workers 

potentially exposed to above-ground 

weapons testing. 

Period of Employment: 1951 to 1963. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Larry Elliott, Director, Office of 

Compensation Analysis and Support, 

National Institute for Occupational 

Safety and Health, 4676 Columbia 

Parkway, MS C–46, Cincinnati, OH 

45226, Telephone 513–533–6800 (this is 

not a toll-free number). Information 

requests can also be submitted by e-mail 

to OCAS@CDC.GOV. 

Dated: March 10, 2006. 

John Howard, 

National Institute for Occupational Safety 

and Health, Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention. 

[FR Doc. 06–2588 Filed 3–16–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4163–19–M