2018-26637. Proposed Data Collection Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations

AGENCY:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION:

Notice with comment period.

SUMMARY:

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 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 Application for Training (OMB Control No. 0920-0017). The Training and Continuing Education Online (TCEO) system is used in the management of the accreditation process for non-federal educators who develop public health and healthcare educational activities and for non-federal health professionals who seek continuing education necessary to maintain professional licensures and certifications. This request for revision is to add new questions to the TCEO New Participant Registration, a new TCEO Post-Course Evaluation, and a new TCEO Follow-up Evaluation. Both new evaluation tools will improve the quality of educational activities. Each TCEO tool ensures compliance with accreditation requirements.

DATES:

CDC must receive written comments on or before February 8, 2019.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2018-0109 by any of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
• Mail: Jeffrey M. Zirger, Acting Lead, Information Collection Review Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE, MS-D74, 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 Jeffery M. Zirger, Information Collection Review Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE, MS-D74, Atlanta, Georgia 30329; phone: [phone]; Email: [e-mail].

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:

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; and

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.

5. Assess information collection costs.

Proposed Project

Application for Training (OMB Control No. 0920-0017, Exp 06/30/2019)—Revision—Division of Scientific Education and Professional Development (DSEPD), Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology and Laboratory Services (CSELS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

DSEPD requests a three-year Revision to the Training and Continuing Education Online (TCEO) system, which will comprise four data collection and management tools. Requested revisions are (1) to add questions to the existing TCEO New Participant Registration and (2) to introduce a Post-Course Evaluation and a Follow-Up Evaluation. No changes are requested for the existing TCEO Proposal Tool.

TCEO provides access to CDC educational activities that offer continuing education to public health and healthcare professionals (learners) to maintain their professional licensures and certifications. Licensures and certifications are mandatory for certain health professionals to provide services that prevent and mitigate illness and save lives. Employees of hospitals, universities, medical centers, state and local health departments, and federal agencies participate in CDC's accredited educational activities to learn about current public health and healthcare practices. CDC is accredited by seven accreditation organizations to provide continuing education for public health and healthcare professionals.

CDC and CDC-funded educational activities include classroom study, conferences, and electronic learning (e-learning). The TCEO Proposal expedites submission, review, and accreditation processes for these CDC and CDC-funded educational activities. The information collected from educational developers provides CDC with the information necessary to meet accreditation requirements. CDC reviews proposals to ensure compliance with requirements and awards continuing education when activities meet accreditation standards. The educational activities that can offer continuing education are then added to TCEO for learners to access.

Accreditation organizations require a method of tracking learners who complete an educational activity and some require collection of profession-specific data, among other requirements. CDC requires health professionals who seek continuing education to establish an account by completing the TCEO New Participant Registration. CDC relies on this electronic form to collect information needed to coordinate learner registrations for educational activities.

The proposed inclusion of two new evaluation tools is required by accreditation organizations to ensure compliance with accreditation standards. Public health professionals will be required to take the TCEO Post-course Evaluation after they have participated in an educational activity and before they can earn continuing education. Health professionals who have received continuing education for the activity will be encouraged to complete the TCEO Follow-up Evaluation when a link is sent to them from TCEO by email. Reports on responses to both tools will be submitted to accreditation organizations when they conduct audits or when CDC requests renewal of accreditation. Both new tools provide information to help CDC improve the quality of its educational activities.

Proposed changes not only ensure that CDC is in compliance with accreditation requirements, changes will improve the quality of educational activities, while continuing to offer accredited educational activities at no cost to learners. Because of the increasing demand for accredited educational activities that offer free CE for licensures and certifications, TCEO experiences a continued increase in educational activities completed each year by registered learners. Every year, the number of times learners complete steps to earn continuing education increases by approximately 15%. The two new evaluation tools will be shared with all learners who complete educational activities in TCEO, causing the annual burden estimate to increase significantly. The annual burden table has been updated to reflect the new TCEO Post-course Evaluation (66,667 burden hours) and the new TCEO Follow-up Evaluation (2,000 burden hours), for a total of 85,934 burden hours that include all four TCEO tools. There are no costs to respondents other than their time.

Estimated Annualized Burden Hours

Type of respondents	Form name	Number of respondents	Number of responses per respondent	Average burden per response (in hours)	Total burden (in hours)
Educational Developers (Health Educators)	TCEO Proposal	120	1	5	600
Public Health and Health Care Professionals (Learners)	TCEO New Participant Registration	200,000	1	5/60	16,667
Public Health and Health Care Professionals (Learners)	TCEO Post-course Evaluation	200,000	2	10/60	66,667
Public Health and Health Care Professionals (Learners)	TCEO Follow-up Evaluation	20,000	2	3/60	2,000
Total		420,120			85,934

Jeffrey M. Zirger,

Acting Lead, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Scientific Integrity, Office of Science, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).