[Federal Register: October 2, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 191)]
[Notices]               
[Page 56842-56843]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr02oc03-69]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[30Day-71-03]

 
Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and 
Recommendations

    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 Officer at (404) 498-1210. Send written 
comments to CDC, Desk Officer, Human Resources and Housing Branch, New 
Executive Office Building, Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503 or by fax 
to (202) 395-6974. Written comments should be received within 30 days 
of this notice.
    Proposed Project: Work-related Assaults Treated In Hospital 
Emergency Departments (OMB Control No. 0920-0575)--Reinstatement 
without change--The National Institute for Occupational Safety and 
Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 
Workplace violence, both fatal and nonfatal, is recognized as an 
important occupational safety and health issue. Various data systems 
have provided fairly detailed information on fatal workplace violence, 
but much less is known about the circumstances and risk factors for 
nonfatal workplace violence. A number of strategies have been suggested 
for reducing the incidence and severity of workplace violence in 
various settings (e.g., taxicabs, health care, law enforcement, social 
services), yet, little empirical knowledge exists about what has been 
implemented and what impact such strategies may have. The report, 
Workplace Violence: A Report to the Nation, published by the University 
of Iowa based on recommendations from a workshop of experts states, ``* 
* * research focused on a much broader understanding of the scope and 
impact of workplace violence is urgently needed to reduce the human and 
financial burden of this significant public health problem.'' In 2000, 
there were 677 workplace homicides in the U.S. From 1993-1999, there 
were an estimated 1.7 million non-fatal victimizations ``while at work 
or on duty'' every year, accounting for 18

[[Page 56843]]

percent of all violent crime during the seven-year period.
    The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) maintains a database 
of injuries treated in a nationally-representative sample of U.S. 
hospital emergency departments (ED) called the National Electronic 
Injury Surveillance System (NEISS). Data routinely collected through 
NEISS include a brief narrative description of the injury event as well 
as basic demographic information, intent and mechanism of injury, work-
relatedness, principal diagnosis, part of body affected, location where 
the injury occurred, involvement of consumer products, and disposition 
at ED discharge. For assaults, summary data are also being collected on 
the relationship of the perpetrator to the injured person and the 
context (e.g., altercation, robbery, sexual assault, etc.). For work-
related cases, occupation and industry information is collected. The 
data system does not include any information on issues such as the 
specific workplace circumstances and risk factors for workplace 
violence, security measures in place in the workplace and whether they 
were utilized/worked appropriately, training in workplace violence risk 
factors and prevention strategies, previous incidents of workplace 
violence, return to work after assault, and other specific workplace 
violence information.
    In December 2001, Congress directed NIOSH to develop an intramural 
and extramural prevention research program that will target all aspects 
of workplace violence. For the last ten years, NIOSH has been 
collaborating with CPSC to collect surveillance data on work-related 
injuries treated in the NEISS EDs. In addition, NIOSH has utilized the 
capacity of NEISS to incorporate follow-back surveys. Follow-back 
surveys allow collection of first-hand, detailed knowledge that does 
not exist in administrative or other records. CPSC routinely uses this 
mechanism to collect information on various types of injuries (e.g., 
fireworks-related injuries, injuries to children in baby walkers, 
etc.). NIOSH has used this mechanism to collect information on the 
circumstances of injury, training, protective equipment (if 
appropriate), and other issues important to more fully understanding 
the risk factors for work-related injuries and to make appropriate 
recommendations for preventing other such injuries in the future.
    The current proposed study will consist of a telephone interview 
survey of workers treated in NEISS hospital emergency departments for 
injuries sustained during a work-related assault over a one-year 
period. CPSC will hire a contractor to conduct the actual telephone 
interviews. NIOSH will review potential cases to identify those cases 
that should be forwarded to the contractor for interview. The survey 
includes an extended narrative description of the injury incident as 
well as items regarding general workplace organization; personal 
characteristics of the worker; work tasks at the time of the assault; 
training on workplace violence risk factors and prevention strategies; 
security measures in place and how they impacted the outcome of the 
incident; medical care received for injuries; time away from work; and 
return to work after the assault. This study will provide critical 
information for understanding the nature and impact of nonfatal assault 
among U.S. workers. In combination with data collected from other 
sources, this information will ultimately contribute to the prevention 
of violence in the workplace. The annualized burden for this data 
collection is 227 hours.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                   Number of       Avg. burden/
                            Survey                                Number of        responses/        response
                                                                 respondents       respondent        (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Work-related assaults treated in hospital emergency                       680                1            20/60
 departments.................................................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Dated: September 26, 2003.
Nancy Cheal,
Acting Associate Director for Policy, Planning and Evaluation, Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 03-24998 Filed 10-1-03; 8:45 am]

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