[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 108 (Monday, June 7, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32195-32199]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-13516]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Procedures and Costs for Use of the Research Data Center

AGENCY: National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Health and Human Services 
(HHS).

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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    Authority: Section 306 of the Public Health Service Act, as 
amended (42 U.S.C. 242k) and Public Law 103-333.

SUMMARY: This notice provides information about the Research Data 
Center (RDC) operated by the National Center for Health Statistics 
(NCHS) within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The 
Research Data Center was established in 1998 to provide a mechanism 
whereby researchers can access detailed data files in a secure 
environment, without jeopardizing the confidentiality of respondents. 
Historically, the data files accessed in the RDC have consisted of NCHS 
survey data and vital statistics. RDC has recently begun accepting data 
files that were not produced from NCHS survey data. In order to assure 
that all data files are processed in a consistent manner, the original 
guidelines for accessing files in the RDC are being reviewed and 
revised as necessary. As part of the revision process, potential users 
are being given the opportunity to provide input on how the procedures 
of the RDC can best serve their research needs. This notice describes 
how to submit proposals requesting use of the data, mechanisms to 
access the RDC, requirements, use of outside data sets, costs for using 
the RDC, and other pertinent topics. We are seeking comments on these 
procedures and will post the final procedures on the NCHS Web site.

ADDRESSES: Send comments concerning this notice to Peter Meyer, 
National Center for Health Statistics, 3311 Toledo Road, Room 4113, 
Hyattsville, MD 20782, or e-mail to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#89f9e4ecf0ecfbb8c9eaedeaa7eee6ff"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7c0c111905190e4d3c1f181f521b130a">[email protected]</span></a>.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Meyer, telephone 301-458-4375.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Operational Procedures for Use of the Research Data Center; National 
Center for Health Statistics; Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention

Table of Contents

Background
Methods of Access to Data
Submission of Research Proposals Using NCHS Data
Proposal Review
Researcher Supplied Data
General Procedures for Onsite Access
General Procedures for Remote Access
Confidentiality and Human Subjects Protection
Disclosure Review Process
Costs for Using the RDC

National Center for Health Statistics Research Data Center Procedures

Background

    The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) releases and hosts 
a range of statistical data products on the health and well-being of 
the nation and its health care system. Statistical tabulations (tables) 
present data in predetermined categories such as age, race, sex or 
geographic region that are important to describe health status and 
trends. In addition, statistical microdata containing health and 
related variables are published so that outside analysts may conduct 
original research and special studies to address issues of public 
health science and policy. Section 308 (d) of the Public Health Service 
Act and the NCHS Staff Manual on Confidentiality do not permit the 
release of data that are either identified or identifiable to persons 
outside of NCHS. In order to preserve privacy and confidentiality, 
details that might identify or facilitate the identification of persons 
and entities participating in NCHS surveys and data systems either 
owned or hosted by NCHS are not released in published data products. 
Examples of data elements that might be abridged or suppressed to 
prevent reidentification are geographic identifiers, genetic data, 
details of sample design, and variables such as age or income that 
might exist in other databases.
    Despite the wide dissemination of NCHS data through publications, 
Web releases, etc., the inability to release files with these sensitive 
variables limits the utility of NCHS data for research, policy, and 
programmatic purposes and sets a boundary on one of the Department of 
Health and Human Service's goals: to increase our capacity to provide 
state and local area estimates. In pursuit of this goal and in response 
to the public research community's interest in restricted data, NCHS 
established the NCHS Research Data Centers (RDCs), a place where Guest 
Researchers can access detailed data files in a secure environment, 
without jeopardizing the confidentiality of respondents. Access for 
Guest Researchers is regulated by the Confidential Information 
Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act (CIPSEA) and other Federal 
statutes. The RDCs provide restricted access to NCHS data and non-NCHS 
data. Guest Researchers function under the supervision of NCHS 
employees and are subject to the same provisions of law with regard to 
confidentiality as NCHS employees. Instructions for developing a 
research proposal can be found in Appendix II. Special requirements for 
use of non-NCHS data can be found in Appendix III, Project-Specific 
Requirements.

Methods to Access Data

    Restricted NCHS data or data hosted by NCHS can be made accessible 
through the RDC. To gain access to these data, Guest Researchers must 
submit a proposal for review and approval. Once the proposal is 
approved, Guest Researchers meeting certain criteria are allowed 
access, under strict supervision, to restricted statistical microdata 
file(s). There are four modes of access: (1)

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NCHS RDC, (2) Remote Access System, (3) Census RDC, (4) Staff-Assisted.
    1. NCHS RDC--Guest Researchers conduct their research on-site at 
one of the NCHS RDCs. The NCHS RDCs are secure research facilities 
located at NCHS headquarters in Hyattsville, MD and at the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, GA, where Guest Researchers 
meeting certain criteria are allowed access, under strict supervision, 
to restricted statistical microdata file(s). The NCHS RDC workstations 
are ``stand alone'' and have no link to the NCHS network, the CDC-NCHS 
mainframe, or the internet. There is sufficient storage on the 
workstations. PC-SAS, SUDAAN, and STATA are installed on the 
workstations and additional programming/analytic languages can be added 
as needed. Drives on the workstations for removable media such as USB 
ports are configured so as to be inaccessible to users. The 
workstations are configured such that users are given read only access 
to requested data files and can write only onto the local workstation's 
hard drive. These restrictions ensure that users cannot remove 
information that has not been subjected to a review for 
confidentiality. Guest Researchers are able to take the results of 
their analyses off-site only after disclosure review by an NCHS RDC 
Analyst.
    2. Remote Access--Through remote access Guest Researchers are able 
to electronically submit analytical computer programs using SAS and 
SUDAAN. After their proposals are approved, Guest Researchers are 
registered with the RDC remote access system and are required to accept 
the procedures and programming limitations to be followed in accessing 
data. For example, users cannot use PROC TABULATE or PROC IML, nor are 
functions allowed that are capable of producing listings of individual 
cases such as LIST and PRINT. Additionally, functions which may select 
individual cases are not allowed (R--, FIRST., LAST., and others). 
Guest Researchers send programs to, and receive output from, the remote 
system through a secure communication network. Their programs execute 
on a computer in the RDC. Both submitted programs and output are 
subjected to a programmed disclosure review and may also be subjected 
to a manual review. For example, the output is scanned for cells 
containing less than five observations. If any are found, not only is 
that cell suppressed, but several additional cells will also be 
suppressed (complementary suppression). The .log file is also scanned 
with particular attention to certain types of error conditions that may 
spawn case listings. Some projects are not suitable for the remote 
access method. Researchers should consider the programming limitations 
of the remote access system when choosing this method of access. 
However, the data stewards and RDC staff may also deem the project 
inappropriate for remote access during the review process.
    3. Census RDC--Guest Researchers can have the same access that is 
available to them at NCHS at one of the Census RDCs. Analytic data sets 
are constructed at the NCHS RDC according to specifications included in 
the research proposal and are then securely transferred to the Census 
data processing facility in Bowie, Maryland. Users can then view the 
data using ``front end dumb terminals'' at a Census RDC. The data do 
not leave the Bowie facility. The Guest Researcher's output is sent via 
a secure communication network to RDC staff for disclosure review. Once 
the output has been approved for release, it is sent via email to the 
Guest Researcher. A listing of available Census RDC locations can be 
found here: http://webserver02.ces.census.gov/index.php/ces/researchlocations.
    4. RDC Staff-Assisted Research--This is mainly useful for those 
planning to use statistical software programming languages other than 
SAS or who are not able to travel to the RDC facility. Under this 
method, an approved researcher e-mails a statistical software program 
to the assigned RDC Analyst who runs the program and, after disclosure 
review, provides the output to the researcher via a secure 
communication network. More extensive programming services are also 
available.
    Each of the access modes has an associated cost which offset 
equipment, space rental, and staff overhead. The staff overhead 
includes the time and resources necessary for creating the analytical 
file, monitoring progress, setting up equipment and data files, 
disclosure limitation review, and file management. Since these reflect 
varying demands on resources, accurate cost estimates cannot be given 
without complete knowledge of the proposed research.

Submission of Research Proposals Using NCHS Data

    To access restricted data through the RDC, researchers must first 
submit a proposal. The proposal serves four main purposes:
    1. To make sure that researchers have a defined research question.
    2. To determine what restricted variables are needed to complete 
the project.
    3. To assess disclosure risk based on the types of output and 
requested restricted variables.
    4. To determine the mode of access and the required software.
    Researchers must submit proposals that are detailed enough in their 
data specifications to permit RDC staff to easily determine what data 
elements are required. Prospective researchers are encouraged to check 
with RDC staff prior to writing their proposals to ensure that the data 
of interest can be made available to them. Researchers should develop 
their proposals in a way that facilitates the ability of the RDC staff 
to create the analytic files required by the project. Proposals should 
be explicit regarding the variables needed as well as any case 
selection required. Only those data items required to conduct the 
proposed analyses will be included in the analytic data file and the 
proposals should address why the requested data are needed for the 
proposed study. Overly large and complex projects, or poorly defined 
projects will require extensive communication between RDC staff and the 
researchers proposing the project, and this can cause the process to 
move slowly. The RDC allows researchers to supply external sources of 
data to be merged with RDC data. These external sources of data 
supplied by the researcher may consist of proprietary data collected 
and ``owned'' by the researcher or other publicly available data 
obtained by the researcher such as Census data.

Proposal Review

    Upon receipt, the RDC Director will assign the proposal to an RDC 
Analyst who will review the proposal for completeness and feasibility. 
Then the RDC Analyst will distribute the proposal to the Review 
Committee which consists of (at minimum) the Director of the NCHS RDC, 
the RDC Analyst, the NCHS Confidentiality Officer, and a representative 
of the data producing program. The review takes 6-8 weeks.
    The following criteria apply to proposal review:
    1. Risk of disclosure of restricted information.
    2. Appropriate use of the data and concurrence with the intended 
use for which it was collected. Including assurance that the use of the 
data is in accordance with the informed consent procedures associated 
with the collection of the data.

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    3. Scientific and technical feasibility of the project.
    4. Availability of resources at the RDCs.
    For projects using NCHS data, whether the proposed project is in 
accordance with the mission of the NCHS ``* * * to provide statistical 
information that will guide actions and policies to improve the health 
of the American people.''
    The Review Committee can make one of three decisions: approve, 
revise/resubmit, or disapprove. Guest Researchers should note that 
approval of their application does not constitute endorsement by NCHS 
of the substantive, methodological, theoretical, or policy relevance or 
merit of the proposed research. Rather, NCHS approval constitutes a 
judgment that this research, as described in the application, is not an 
illegal or unethical use (as determined by the informed consent and 
original reason for collecting the data) of the requested data file and 
does not jeopardize the confidentiality of the data. Approval of a 
proposal does not explicitly or implicitly guarantee that all output 
generated by the analysis will be released. Output that poses a 
disclosure risk will be suppressed.

Researcher Supplied Data

    The Guest Researcher may supply two types of data: (1) Publically 
available NCHS data and (2) external non-NCHS sources of data. 
Researchers must supply these data at prior to when they intend to 
access it, regardless of method. The RDC Analyst will accept Guest 
Researcher data files in SAS, STATA, or ASCII format (flat files) with 
variables either column delimited or column specific. Other formats may 
also be proposed. The merging of Guest Researcher-supplied data with 
NCHS in-house data will be done by an NCHS RDC Analyst prior to the 
arrival of the Guest Researcher. Depending on the variables used to 
merge the data, they may or may not be removed from the final 
analytical data set. For instance, if state and county are used to add 
Census variables to an NCHS data set, state and county will be removed 
after the merge unless otherwise specified.
    Most projects involving NCHS data will require the Guest Researcher 
to download the public files from the internet and create an extract 
that includes only the variables required for this project. There are a 
few exceptions that the RDC Analyst will discuss as needed with the 
Guest Researcher.
    <bullet> The public-use file can only include those variables 
required for analysis. Please do not send the entire public-use files.
    <bullet> Original NCHS Variables must have the name they are given 
in the public-use data set. If the Guest Researcher wants to rename the 
variables, please include the original variable name in the variable 
description.
    <bullet> Derived Variables must be labeled with the variables from 
which they were derived and any arithmetic manipulation must be 
explained.
    <bullet> Public-Use Mortality Variables: Please do not include any 
public-use mortality variables or variables derived from the public-use 
mortality data if the project involves restricted mortality variables.
    <bullet> Any attempt to include variables that may lead to re-
identification of subjects or establishments is considered a disclosure 
violation and will result in the cessation of your project and possible 
legal actions.
    The non-NCHS data may consist of proprietary data collected and 
owned by the Guest Researcher or other publicly available data obtained 
such as Census data. Guest Researchers are responsible for interacting 
with RDC Analyst to ensure that their data can be merged with the NCHS 
supplied data and the format of the data is consistent with it. Guest 
Researchers are also responsible for ensuring that the data they 
provided has been consented for merging.
    The RDC may retain copies of datasets but they will not be made 
available to anyone other than the Guest Researcher without written 
permission.

General Procedures for Onsite Access

    1. Guest Researchers may work at the NCHS RDCs only under 
supervision of RDC staff and only during normal working hours (Monday-
Friday, 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.). Admittance to the RDC is limited to the 
Guest Researchers included in the Research Proposal. Guest Researchers 
are required to show photo identification before admittance. A maximum 
of 3 collaborating Guest Researchers can sit at a computer station in 
the RDC.
    2. Computers will be pre-loaded with the approved datasets by NCHS 
staff approximately one day prior to the Guest Researcher's use of the 
RDC. Once the analysis is completed, the RDC Analyst will remove the 
datasets from the RDC computer. The data will be hosted on the RDC 
internal system for one year after the last time it was accessed by the 
Guest Researcher.
    3. Guest Researchers must be able to conduct their analysis with 
the software specified in their research proposal.
    4. Guest Researchers are not allowed to bring documents, manuals, 
books, etc., that may enable them to identify and disclose confidential 
information they access in the RDC. Neither are they allowed to bring 
cell phones, pagers, or other devices into the RDC which would enable 
them to communicate with persons outside of the RDC.
    5. All computer output generated by statistical programs and all 
handwritten notes based on such computer output are subject to 
disclosure review by NCHS staff before removal from the RDC.
    6. Guest Researchers may not save output, files, or programs to 
transportable electronic media. RDC staff may copy output or programs 
to transportable media, if requested.
    7. Guest Researchers' analytic data set will be specified 
thoroughly in the research proposal. The analytic data set for a 
project may include multiple cycles of a survey or variables from 
multiple sources. Under no circumstance will Guest Researchers be 
permitted any opportunity to merge datasets on their own.

General Procedures for Remote Access

    1. Guest Researchers must register an email address that is 
credibly secure.
    2. Data requests must be in the form of SAS programs. However, 
certain SAS commands/statements are not allowed through remote access.
    3. The remote access system does not allow users to write permanent 
datasets in its disk space. Jobs that attempt to create permanent 
datasets or files are flagged, terminated, and an error message is sent 
to the Guest Researcher.
    4. The remote access system limits Guest Researchers' time and 
storage. No single program is allowed more than one hour to complete 
execution or to generate output in excess of 5 MB.
    5. Guest Researchers should contact their RDC Analyst immediately 
if they have inadvertently produced output that could be used to 
identify subjects/respondents or if they cannot complete their analysis 
due to automated disclosure protocols. The RDC Analyst will provide 
reasonable assistance in completing the analysis while still protecting 
confidentiality.

Confidentiality and Human Subjects Protection

    In order to access restricted data files in the RDC, Guest 
Researchers must sign an NCHS Designated Agent Agreement (Appendix IV), 
the Agreement Regarding Conditions of Access to Confidential Data in 
the Research Data Center of the National Center for Health Statistics 
(Appendix V), and the Researcher Affidavit of Confidentiality (Appendix 
VI). All members of the

[[Page 32198]]

research team that work directly with the data must sign these forms. 
NCHS reserves the right to terminate any project at any time if it 
deems that an investigator's actions may compromise confidentiality, 
the ethical standards of behavior in a research environment, and/or 
protocols developed by NCHS to protect the data itself. The Guest 
Researcher may also be barred from future use of the RDCs.
    As mentioned earlier, confidentiality protection at NCHS is 
governed by Section 308(d) of the Public Health Service Act, PHSA, and 
(42 U.S.C. 242m). Specifically,

    No information, if an establishment or person supplying the 
information or described in it is identified, obtained in the course 
of activities undertaken or supported under Sections 304, 305, 306, 
307, or 309 may be used for any purpose other than the purpose for 
which it was supplied unless such establishment or person has 
consented (as determined under regulations of the Secretary) to its 
use for such other purpose and (1) in the case of information 
obtained in the course of health, statistical or epidemiological 
activities under Section 304 or 306, such information may not be 
published or released in other form if the particular establishment 
or person supplying the information or described in it is 
identifiable unless such establishment or person has consented (as 
determined under regulations of the Secretary) to its publication or 
release in other form * * *

    Having read and familiarized themselves with the Designated Agent 
Agreement and understanding the legal framework under which NCHS 
operates, including Section 308(d) of the Public Health Service Act, 
308d (for all data) and the Confidential Information Protection and 
Statistical Efficiency Act (for all data collected, edited, linked, 
merged, transformed, or manipulated at NCHS in any way since January 1, 
2003), the researchers agree:
    1. To make no copies of any files or portions of files to which 
they are granted access except those authorized by NCHS Research Data 
Center staff.
    2. Not to use any technique to circumvent suppression algorithms or 
other disclosure minimization protocols developed by the RDC even if 
the intent is not to re-identify study subjects or respondents.
    3. To return to RDC staff all NCHS restricted materials with which 
they may be provided during the conduct of their research at NCHS and 
other materials as requested.
    4. Not to use any technique in an attempt to learn the identity of 
any person, establishment, or sampling unit not identified on public 
use data files.
    5. To hold in strictest confidence the identification of any 
establishment or individual that may be inadvertently revealed in any 
documents or discussion, or analysis. Such inadvertent identification 
revealed in their analyses will be immediately brought to the attention 
of RDC staff.
    6. Not to remove any printouts, electronic files, documents, or 
media until they have been scanned for disclosure risk by RDC staff.
    7. Not to remove from NCHS any written notes pertaining to the 
identification of any establishment, individual, or geographic area 
that may be revealed in the conduct of their research at NCHS.
    8. To the inspection of any material they may bring to or remove 
from the NCHS RDC.
    9. To submit to NCHS RDC Analyst for disclosure limitation review 
any papers or reports submitted for publication.
    10. To comport themselves in a manner consistent with principles 
and standards appropriate to a scientific research establishment.
    Any willful disclosure of confidential statistical information by 
the Guest Researcher is punishable under CIPSEA and carries a fine of 
up to $250,000 and up to 5 years in prison.
    The NCHS RDCs expect that all Guest Researchers will adhere to 
established standards and principles for carrying out statistical 
research and analyses. Guest Researchers must conduct only those 
analyses which received approval. Failure to comply with RDC rules and 
regulations will result in cancellation of the research activity and 
potential disbarment from future research activities in the RDCs. In 
the case where Ethics Review Board (ERB) approval is required to 
conduct research, NCHS will notify relevant ERBs of infringements of 
protocol approvals.

Disclosure Review Process

    All output will undergo disclosure review by an RDC Analyst and/or 
the remote access system. In general, disclosure review is consistent 
with the guidelines published in the NCHS Staff Manual on 
Confidentiality.
    RDC staff review data summaries to assure maintenance of respondent 
confidentiality. Tables containing cells with fewer than 5 observations 
may not be released to the data user. These cells will be suppressed. 
If Guest Researchers require output of an intermediary nature that 
contains counts of less than five and believes that the release would 
not compromise confidentiality, they should contact their assigned RDC 
Analyst or the Director. To assure that small cells cannot be 
calculated from the other cells in the same row or column, the totals 
for the rows and columns containing the small cell are also suppressed. 
Once disclosure review is completed, Guest Researchers receive 
electronic copies of the final tabulations.
    Output generated through RDC access mechanisms will be subject to a 
review that will include, but not be limited, to the following 
procedures:
    1. In no table should all cases of any line or column be found in a 
single cell.
    2. In no case should the total figure for a line or column of a 
cross-tabulation be less than 5. One acceptable way to solve the 
problem is to use a statistical disclosure limitation technique such as 
rounding.
    3. In no case should a quantity figure be based upon fewer than 
five cases.
    4. In no case should a quantity figure be released to the Guest 
Researcher if one case contributes more than 60 percent of the amount.
    5. In no case should data on an identifiable case, nor any of the 
kinds of data listed in preceding items A-D, be derivable through 
subtraction or other calculation from the combination of output on a 
given study.
    6. Low level geography will not be included in output provided to 
the Guest Researchers.
    The reviews will all be performed by an NCHS RDC Analyst who is 
trained in statistics and statistical disclosure limitation. For more 
information consult the Report on Statistical Disclosure Limitation 
Methodology: http://www.fcsm.gov/working-papers/wp22.html.

Costs for Using the RDC

    Guest Researchers using the NCHS RDCs will be charged for space and 
equipment rental and staff time necessary for supervision, disclosure 
limitation review, maintenance of computer facilities (including both 
hardware and software), and the creation and maintenance of data files 
required by the Guest Researcher. The cost per project (or creation of 
an analytic file) is given below:

Set-Up

    <bullet> New file creation
    There is a minimum setup charge of $750 per day. An additional $750 
per day is charged as needed for file creation and for special 
handling, such as the merging of additional data or creating custom 
file formats. More complex projects may require discussion between the 
Guest Researcher and RDC staff to determine the cost of file creation.

On-Site

    <bullet> Daily programming costs

[[Page 32199]]

    $300 per day (consecutive 2-day minimum and 10-day maximum, with 
extensions negotiated subject to scheduling requirements). Time on-site 
in the RDC can be scheduled in daily increments but the minimum 
reservation is 2 consecutive days. Scheduling time at the RDC is on a 
first-come, first-served basis.

Staff-Assisted

    <bullet> $750 per day.

Remote

    <bullet> $750 per month.
    Payment is expected in advance of the use of the RDC. A check, 
money order, or Interagency Agreement payable to ``DHHS Statistical 
Services'' must be received 7 business days prior to the scheduled 
start date of use of the RDC.
    Payments should be mailed to: Research Data Center, Attn: Peter 
Meyer, National Center for Health Statistics, 3311 Toledo Road, Suite 
4113, Hyattsville, MD 20782.
    FULL Document with appendices available at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/r&d/Guidelines_10_14_08c.pdf.

    Dated: May 28, 2010.
James Stephens,
Associate Director for Science, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2010-13516 Filed 6-4-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P


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