[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 178 (Wednesday, September 15, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50099-50100]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-24006]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[30 DAY-25-99]
Agency Forms Undergoing Paperwork Reduction Act Review
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publishes a
list of information collection requests under review by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction
Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). To request a copy of these requests, call
the CDC Reports Clearance Office on (404) 639-7090. Send written
comments to CDC, Desk Officer; Human Resources and Housing Branch, New
Executive Office Building, Room 10235; Washington, DC 20503. Written
comments should be received within 30 days of this notice.
1. Proposed Project
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Tailored Occupational Safety and
Health Information on the World Wide Web: Increasing Knowledge and
Changing Behavior of Residential Building Construction Contractors--
New--The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
(NIOSH)--Workers in the construction industry face higher than normal
risks of fatal injury, nonfatal injury, and illness resulting from on-
the-job exposures. According to the NIOSH, during the period from 1980
through 1992, construction had the highest number of deaths resulting
from workplace injury--over 14,000 deaths, or more than 1,000 deaths
per year. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the
Center to Protect Workers' Rights (CPWR), construction had the highest
number of deaths resulting from injury (1,039) and the third highest
rate of fatal injury (13.9 deaths per 100,000 workers) in 1996.
The majority of construction companies are very small. According to
Dun and Bradstreet, 96% of residential building contractors employ less
than 15 workers on average; over 80% employ less than 5 workers. In
general, small companies have insufficient resources to identify and
apply risk and prevention information relevant to their operations.
According to a recent study (conducted by NIOSH), lack of tailored,
relevant, and timely occupational safety and health information is a
major barrier identified by small construction contractors.
The goals of this investigation are to: (1) explore the
effectiveness of tailored safety and health information that is
developed based on the individual contractor's construction specialties
and specific operations, as well as the contractor's psychosocial
factors; and (2) explore the effectiveness of the Internet World Wide
Web as a mechanism for delivering tailored safety and health
information. Specifically, the goal of this data collection is to
compare the effectiveness of tailored Internet messages (based on
interactive Internet and computer-tailoring technologies), non-tailored
Internet messages (based on current static, menu-driven, non-
interactive models), tailored print messages delivered by direct mail,
and non-tailored print messages delivered by direct mail in influencing
changes in safety-and health-related knowledge, intentions, and
behaviors. Messages will address two leading cases of injuries and
illnesses in construction: Falls and silicosis.
The data collected in this study will be used to further current
understanding of tailoring safety and health information utilizing the
Internet and the relative effectiveness of this approach when compared
to traditional and current mechanisms of communicating safety and
health information. The data collected in this study will also be used
to provide a basis for developing industry-specific occupational safety
and health information systems that provide relevant, timely risk and
prevention information, especially to small business owners. The total
annual burden hours are 249.
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No. of Average burden/
Respondents No. of responses/ response (in
respondents respondent hrs.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Residential Building Construction Contractors................ 250 2 .33
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2. The development and implementation of a theory-based health
communications intervention to decrease silica dust exposure among
masonry workers--New--The National Institute of Occupational Safety and
Health (NIOSH)--Construction is the most frequently recorded industry
on death certificates with mention of silicosis. Overexposure to
crystalline silica is well documented in the construction industry,
especially in brick laying and masonry. According to 1993 BLS data,
there are 136,139 (at 24,362 establishments) masonry and
[[Page 50100]]
brick laying workers in the U.S., and according to a recent study,
approximately 17,400 masonry and plastering workers are exposed to at
least five times the NIOSH recommended exposure limit (REL for
crystalline silica), and of these workers, an estimated 80 percent of
them are exposed to at least 10 times the NIOSH REL.
To effectively prevent silicosis, not only must control measures be
improved, but workers must be persuaded to protect themselves and
employers must be motivated to provide workers with proper engineering
controls and training. Previous research has too often focused on the
behaviors and attitudes of workers and not on employers. Since
employers have a tremendous influence on the health of workers and
since their motivations may differ from workers'', it is important to
focus on them as well. Well-designed and theory-driven communication
interventions have the capacity to promote protective health behaviors.
To develop messages that will have the greatest success at motivating
workers to protect themselves and employers to protect their workers
from silicosis, information on workers' and employers' beliefs,
attitudes, and behaviors regarding silicosis must be determined. A
recently completed pilot-study indicated a need to motivate employers
to provide appropriate engineering controls and respiratory protection
and a need to persuade workers to protect themselves.
The goal of this project is to develop a health communication
intervention program targeting both masonry contractors and workers
that will increase the use of engineering controls (specifically, wet-
sawing) and respiratory protection. The aforementioned pilot study will
serve as a foundation upon which the intervention will be developed.
The effectiveness of the intervention will be evaluated using a pre-
post test questionnaire.
The study results will provide a basis for intervention programs
that masonry contractors can use to educate their workers regarding
risk of exposure to silica dust on masonry work sites. The methodology
could be applied to other construction procedures such as jack
hammering, sand blasting, and similar dust producing procedures to
produce similar intervention programs. Eventually we would hope, silica
exposures among construction workers would decrease significantly. The
total annual burden hours are 146.
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Average
No. of No. of burden/ Total
Respondents respondents responses/ response burden (in
respondent (in hrs.) hrs.)
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Workers................................................. 200 2 0.33 132
Contractors............................................. 20 2 0.33 13.2
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Total............................................... ............ ............ ............ 145.2
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Dated: September 9, 1999.
Nancy Cheal,
Acting Associate Director for Policy, Planning and Evaluation, Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
[FR Doc. 99-24006 Filed 9-14-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P
