The Need To Establish Personal Protective Technology Centers of Excellence To Address Research and Practice Gaps, 60462-60463 [2021-23853]
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 209 / Tuesday, November 2, 2021 / Notices
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention
[Docket Number CDC–2021–0115, NIOSH–
343]
The Need To Establish Personal
Protective Technology Centers of
Excellence To Address Research and
Practice Gaps
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, HHS.
ACTION: Request for information.
AGENCY:
The National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health
(NIOSH), within the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), is
soliciting public comment on the need
to establish centers of excellence to
address research and practice needs in
the area of personal protective
technology (PPT), including personal
protective equipment.
DATES: Comments must be received by
January 31, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be
submitted through either of the
following two methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal:
https://www.regulations.gov (follow the
instructions for submitting comments),
or
• Mail: NIOSH Docket Office, 1090
Tusculum Avenue, MS C–34,
Cincinnati, Ohio 45226–1998.
Instructions: All written submissions
received in response to this notice must
include the agency name (Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, HHS)
and docket number (CDC–2021–0115;
NIOSH–343). All relevant comments
received will be posted without change
to https://www.regulations.gov,
including any personal information
provided.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Patrick G. Dempsey, Ph.D.; email:
odadmin@cdc.gov; telephone 412–386–
6480 [not a toll-free number].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Within
NIOSH, the National Personal Protective
Technology Laboratory is charged with
preventing disease, injury, and death
among the millions of American
workers who rely on PPT. To
accomplish this mission, NIOSH
conducts scientific research, leads PPT
conformity assessment efforts, develops
guidance and authoritative
recommendations, disseminates
information, and responds to requests
for workplace health hazard
evaluations.
Personal protective technology—such
as respirators, protective clothing,
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SUMMARY:
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gloves, eyewear, hearing protection,
helmets, fit testing equipment, and fall
harnesses—is instrumental in protecting
the health and safety of workers in the
United States and globally. Due to the
comprehensive and inter-/multidisciplinary nature of PPT, innovative
thinking and approaches are necessary
to advance and maximize its role in
enhancing occupational safety and
health.
In 2008, the Institute of Medicine
(IOM) and the National Research
Council (NRC) of the National
Academies convened a committee to
appraise the NIOSH intramural PPT
Program to ‘‘evaluate the relevance and
impact of a dozen specific elements of
the PPT Program in preventing workrelated injury and illness, identify
important future considerations for
scientific investigation, and provide
recommendations for program
improvement.’’ 1 The committee offered
five recommendations;
Recommendation 2 suggested that
NIOSH ‘‘should establish and sustain
extramural PPT centers of excellence
and work to increase other extramural
research opportunities.’’ Specifically,
the committee recommended that the
intramural PPT Program ‘‘[d]evelop and
support research centers of excellence
that work closely with the NIOSH
intramural research program to improve
PPT, increase field research, and
explore and implement research to
practice interventions.’’ 2 Benefits and
advantages of this approach include
increased interdisciplinary expertise
and improved ability to evaluate
interventions (e.g., emerging
technologies), extending the scope of
scientific inquiry to include the
behavioral sciences, and increasing field
research.
Request for Information
In response to the IOM/NRC
recommendation, NIOSH is exploring
the establishment of centers of
excellence dedicated to advancing PPT
and serving as knowledge hubs where
experts from multiple disciplines,
industry representatives, and other
interested parties/groups collaborate on
PPT research and practice. To
accomplish that goal, NIOSH is seeking
input from any interested party
regarding the scope of future centers of
1 Institute of Medicine and National Research
Council. 2008. The Personal Protective Technology
Program at NIOSH. Committee to Review the
NIOSH Personal Protective Technology Program.
Rpt. No. 5, Reviews of Research Programs of the
National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health. Washington, DC: The National Academies
Press, at ix.
2 Id at 13–14.
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
excellence that could play critical roles
in identifying research needs,
conducting research, disseminating
information including education and
outreach activities, and translating
research findings and technologies into
products and practices that will
enhance safety and health. The NIOSH
National Personal Protective
Technology Laboratory has identified
the following three broad focus areas to
be addressed by one or more future
centers of excellence:
• Research and development of new
technologies and approaches to PPT
including sensor technology to increase
efficacy;
• human factors/ergonomics
approaches to evaluating the factors that
influence the adoption and usage of PPT
such as performance, comfort, fit, and
usability; sociotechnical systems
analyses of the influences of factors
such as health and safety management
systems, safety culture, and regulatory
requirements; and
• innovative approaches to the
design, manufacture, and maintenance
of PPT that enhance factors such as the
effectiveness and acceptance of PPT in
varied user populations, availability,
and the ability to rapidly customize and
produce PPT during crises.
In addition to input on the three topic
areas described above, NIOSH is seeking
input on the following questions:
(1) What are the perceived needs for
and benefits of establishing centers of
excellence to advance PPT research and
practice as it relates to your organization
or for you personally?
(2) Are there specific PPT research
and practice needs for certain industry
sectors and/or occupations?
(3) Are there specific PPT research
and practice needs for different types of
hazards (e.g., biological, chemical, gas
and vapor, thermal, physical)?
(4) Are there specific PPT research
and practice needs for certain
anatomical categories of protection (e.g.,
dermal, vision, hearing, respiratory)?
(5) Which particular academic
disciplines, research domains, or
technical expertise should contribute to
addressing PPT research and practice
needs? Describe multi- or interdisciplinary needs to most effectively
advance research and practice.
(6) Describe emerging or novel
technologies that can be investigated
with respect to increasing the
effectiveness of PPT.
(7) How well do the three broad focus
areas described above identify critical
needs? Are there alternate or additional
needs that have not been identified in
this notice?
E:\FR\FM\02NON1.SGM
02NON1
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 209 / Tuesday, November 2, 2021 / Notices
(8) NIOSH anticipates that future PPT
centers of excellence will include at
least three functional core areas:
planning and evaluation, which
includes center of excellence
administration; research, which can be
comprised of pilot projects, small
projects, and large projects; and
outreach, which can include
communication and dissemination
activities, education activities, and
implementation activities. An academic
training functional core area is optional.
How important are the different core
areas and activities within core areas to
the ability of centers of excellence to
advance PPT research and practice?
Disclaimer and Important Notes
This notice is intended for planning
purposes; it does not constitute a formal
announcement for comprehensive
applications. In accordance with
Federal Acquisition Regulation 48 CFR
15.201(e), responses to this notice are
not offers and cannot be accepted by the
Government to form a binding award.
NIOSH will not provide reimbursement
for costs incurred in commenting on
this notice.
NIOSH will not respond to individual
public comments or publish publicly a
compendium of responses. An
informational submission in response to
this notice does not create any
commitment by or on behalf of CDC or
HHS to develop or pursue any program
or ideas discussed.
John J. Howard,
Director, National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, Department of Health and
Human Services.
[FR Doc. 2021–23853 Filed 11–1–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163–18–P
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention
[60Day–22–1262; Docket No. CDC–2021–
0111]
Proposed Data Collection Submitted
for Public Comment and
Recommendations
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS).
ACTION: Notice with comment period.
jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
AGENCY:
The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), as part of
its continuing effort to reduce public
burden and maximize the utility of
government information, invites the
SUMMARY:
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17:42 Nov 01, 2021
Jkt 256001
general public and other Federal
agencies the opportunity to comment on
a proposed and/or continuing
information collection, as required by
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
This notice invites comment on a
proposed information collection project
titled National HIV Behavioral
Surveillance among Transgender
Women (NHBS-Trans). CDC is
requesting approval to continue
collecting standardized HIV-related
behavioral data from transgender
women at risk for HIV.
DATES: CDC must receive written
comments on or before January 3, 2022.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments,
identified by Docket No. CDC–2021–
0111 by any of the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal:
Regulations.gov. Follow the instructions
for submitting comments.
• Mail: Jeffrey M. Zirger, Information
Collection Review Office, Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, 1600
Clifton Road NE, MS H21–8, Atlanta,
Georgia 30329.
Instructions: All submissions received
must include the agency name and
Docket Number. CDC will post, without
change, all relevant comments to
Regulations.gov.
Please note: Submit all comments
through the Federal eRulemaking portal
(regulations.gov) or by U.S. mail to the
address listed above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To
request more information on the
proposed project or to obtain a copy of
the information collection plan and
instruments, contact Jeffrey M. Zirger,
Information Collection Review Office,
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE, MS
H21–8, Atlanta, Georgia 30329; phone:
404–639–7570; Email: omb@cdc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA)
(44 U.S.C. 3501–3520), Federal agencies
must obtain approval from the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for each
collection of information they conduct
or sponsor. In addition, the PRA also
requires Federal agencies to provide a
60-day notice in the Federal Register
concerning each proposed collection of
information, including each new
proposed collection, each proposed
extension of existing collection of
information, and each reinstatement of
previously approved information
collection before submitting the
collection to the OMB for approval. To
comply with this requirement, we are
publishing this notice of a proposed
data collection as described below.
The OMB is particularly interested in
comments that will help:
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60463
1. Evaluate whether the proposed
collection of information is necessary
for the proper performance of the
functions of the agency, including
whether the information will have
practical utility;
2. Evaluate the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of the burden of the
proposed collection of information,
including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
3. Enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be
collected;
4. Minimize the burden of the
collection of information on those who
are to respond, including through the
use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other
technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology,
e.g., permitting electronic submissions
of responses; and
5. Assess information collection costs.
Proposed Project
National HIV Behavioral Surveillance
System—among Transgender Women
(NHBS-Trans) (OMB Control No. 0920–
1262, Exp. 04/30/2022)—Revision—
National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral
Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention
(NCHHSTP), Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC).
Background and Brief Description
The purpose of this data collection is
to monitor behaviors of transgender
women at high risk for infection that are
related to Human Immunodeficiency
Virus (HIV) transmission and
prevention in the United States. This
includes recruiting, interviewing and
providing HIV testing and referral to
services (as needed) following CDC
protocol. The proposed respondents are
300 adult minority transgender women
in up to 14 cities (4,200 interviews total)
who will each respond one time over
the course of the three-year pilot. The
information will be collected over a
three-year period beginning no later
than two months after OMB approval.
NHBS-Trans provides information to
help prevent HIV among transgender
women. Preventing HIV, especially
among high-risk groups, is an effective
strategy for reducing individual, local,
and national healthcare costs. The
utility of this information is to provide
CDC and local health department staff
with data for evaluating progress
towards local and national public health
goals, such as reducing new HIV
infections, increasing the use of
condoms, and targeting high risk groups
by describing and monitoring the HIV
risk behaviors, HIV seroprevalence and
incidence, and HIV prevention
E:\FR\FM\02NON1.SGM
02NON1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 209 (Tuesday, November 2, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60462-60463]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-23853]
[[Page 60462]]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[Docket Number CDC-2021-0115, NIOSH-343]
The Need To Establish Personal Protective Technology Centers of
Excellence To Address Research and Practice Gaps
AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HHS.
ACTION: Request for information.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
(NIOSH), within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
is soliciting public comment on the need to establish centers of
excellence to address research and practice needs in the area of
personal protective technology (PPT), including personal protective
equipment.
DATES: Comments must be received by January 31, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted through either of the following
two methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov
(follow the instructions for submitting comments), or
Mail: NIOSH Docket Office, 1090 Tusculum Avenue, MS C-34,
Cincinnati, Ohio 45226-1998.
Instructions: All written submissions received in response to this
notice must include the agency name (Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, HHS) and docket number (CDC-2021-0115; NIOSH-343). All
relevant comments received will be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patrick G. Dempsey, Ph.D.; email:
[email protected]; telephone 412-386-6480 [not a toll-free number].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Within NIOSH, the National Personal
Protective Technology Laboratory is charged with preventing disease,
injury, and death among the millions of American workers who rely on
PPT. To accomplish this mission, NIOSH conducts scientific research,
leads PPT conformity assessment efforts, develops guidance and
authoritative recommendations, disseminates information, and responds
to requests for workplace health hazard evaluations.
Personal protective technology--such as respirators, protective
clothing, gloves, eyewear, hearing protection, helmets, fit testing
equipment, and fall harnesses--is instrumental in protecting the health
and safety of workers in the United States and globally. Due to the
comprehensive and inter-/multi-disciplinary nature of PPT, innovative
thinking and approaches are necessary to advance and maximize its role
in enhancing occupational safety and health.
In 2008, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the National Research
Council (NRC) of the National Academies convened a committee to
appraise the NIOSH intramural PPT Program to ``evaluate the relevance
and impact of a dozen specific elements of the PPT Program in
preventing work-related injury and illness, identify important future
considerations for scientific investigation, and provide
recommendations for program improvement.'' \1\ The committee offered
five recommendations; Recommendation 2 suggested that NIOSH ``should
establish and sustain extramural PPT centers of excellence and work to
increase other extramural research opportunities.'' Specifically, the
committee recommended that the intramural PPT Program ``[d]evelop and
support research centers of excellence that work closely with the NIOSH
intramural research program to improve PPT, increase field research,
and explore and implement research to practice interventions.'' \2\
Benefits and advantages of this approach include increased
interdisciplinary expertise and improved ability to evaluate
interventions (e.g., emerging technologies), extending the scope of
scientific inquiry to include the behavioral sciences, and increasing
field research.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. 2008.
The Personal Protective Technology Program at NIOSH. Committee to
Review the NIOSH Personal Protective Technology Program. Rpt. No. 5,
Reviews of Research Programs of the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health. Washington, DC: The National
Academies Press, at ix.
\2\ Id at 13-14.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Request for Information
In response to the IOM/NRC recommendation, NIOSH is exploring the
establishment of centers of excellence dedicated to advancing PPT and
serving as knowledge hubs where experts from multiple disciplines,
industry representatives, and other interested parties/groups
collaborate on PPT research and practice. To accomplish that goal,
NIOSH is seeking input from any interested party regarding the scope of
future centers of excellence that could play critical roles in
identifying research needs, conducting research, disseminating
information including education and outreach activities, and
translating research findings and technologies into products and
practices that will enhance safety and health. The NIOSH National
Personal Protective Technology Laboratory has identified the following
three broad focus areas to be addressed by one or more future centers
of excellence:
Research and development of new technologies and
approaches to PPT including sensor technology to increase efficacy;
human factors/ergonomics approaches to evaluating the
factors that influence the adoption and usage of PPT such as
performance, comfort, fit, and usability; sociotechnical systems
analyses of the influences of factors such as health and safety
management systems, safety culture, and regulatory requirements; and
innovative approaches to the design, manufacture, and
maintenance of PPT that enhance factors such as the effectiveness and
acceptance of PPT in varied user populations, availability, and the
ability to rapidly customize and produce PPT during crises.
In addition to input on the three topic areas described above,
NIOSH is seeking input on the following questions:
(1) What are the perceived needs for and benefits of establishing
centers of excellence to advance PPT research and practice as it
relates to your organization or for you personally?
(2) Are there specific PPT research and practice needs for certain
industry sectors and/or occupations?
(3) Are there specific PPT research and practice needs for
different types of hazards (e.g., biological, chemical, gas and vapor,
thermal, physical)?
(4) Are there specific PPT research and practice needs for certain
anatomical categories of protection (e.g., dermal, vision, hearing,
respiratory)?
(5) Which particular academic disciplines, research domains, or
technical expertise should contribute to addressing PPT research and
practice needs? Describe multi- or inter-disciplinary needs to most
effectively advance research and practice.
(6) Describe emerging or novel technologies that can be
investigated with respect to increasing the effectiveness of PPT.
(7) How well do the three broad focus areas described above
identify critical needs? Are there alternate or additional needs that
have not been identified in this notice?
[[Page 60463]]
(8) NIOSH anticipates that future PPT centers of excellence will
include at least three functional core areas: planning and evaluation,
which includes center of excellence administration; research, which can
be comprised of pilot projects, small projects, and large projects; and
outreach, which can include communication and dissemination activities,
education activities, and implementation activities. An academic
training functional core area is optional. How important are the
different core areas and activities within core areas to the ability of
centers of excellence to advance PPT research and practice?
Disclaimer and Important Notes
This notice is intended for planning purposes; it does not
constitute a formal announcement for comprehensive applications. In
accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 48 CFR 15.201(e),
responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the
Government to form a binding award. NIOSH will not provide
reimbursement for costs incurred in commenting on this notice.
NIOSH will not respond to individual public comments or publish
publicly a compendium of responses. An informational submission in
response to this notice does not create any commitment by or on behalf
of CDC or HHS to develop or pursue any program or ideas discussed.
John J. Howard,
Director, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and
Human Services.
[FR Doc. 2021-23853 Filed 11-1-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P
