Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 225 (Monday, November 23, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 64732]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-31201]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

    In compliance with Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 concerning opportunity for public comment on proposed 
collections of information, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health 
Services Administration (SAMHSA) will publish periodic summaries of 
proposed projects. To request more information on the proposed projects 
or to obtain a copy of the information collection plans, call the 
SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer on (301) 443-7978.
    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collections of 
information are necessary for the proper performance of the functions 
of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways 
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, 
including through the use of automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology.
    Proposed Project: Validity of Self-Reported Drug Use in Population 
Surveys--New--During the period July 1999 through June 2000, SAMHSA and 
the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) will conduct a field Study 
to test the validity of obtaining drug use data through a combination 
of computer assisted personal interviewing and audio computer-assisted 
self interviewing. A random sample of approximately 22,000 households 
(from households listed, but not used, in the National Household Survey 
on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) sample segments) will be selected for screening.
    Approximately 3,333 persons form the civilian, non-
institutionalized population of the United States ages 12-25 will be 
selected to be interviewed. First, a questionnaire (using a subset of 
the 1999 NHSDA questions, with a special set of questions for the 
validity study) will be administered to determine: (1) The reported 
prevalence of use of tobacco products, alcohol, illicit substances, and 
illicit use of prescription drugs, and (2) recent environmental 
exposures to tobacco and marijuana smoke. Then, permission will be 
sought to obtain hair and urine samples from respondents. Under a NIDA 
grant, these samples will be chemically analyzed to validate 
respondents' self-reports of drug use (about 2,000 respondents are 
expected to provide biological specimens). Respondents will be paid an 
incentive upon receipt of the hair/urine samples. The results will be 
used by SAMHSA, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, other 
Federal government agencies, and other organizations and researchers to 
estimate the extent of under-reporting on drug use surveys such as the 
NHSDA conducted by SAMHSA.
    The estimated annualized burden for a one-year data collection 
period is summarized below.

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                                                                                      Average
                                                     Number of       Number of        burden/      Total  burden
                                                    respondents     responses/       response          hours
                                                                    respondent        (hours)
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Household screener..............................          22,000               1            0.05           1,100
Questionnaire:
    No specimen.................................           1,333               1            1.00           1,333
    With specimens..............................           2,000               1            1.50           3,000
        Total...................................  ..............  ..............  ..............           5,433
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    Send comments to Nancy Pearce, SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer, 
Room 16-105, Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857. 
Written comments should be received within 60 days of this notice.

    Dated: November 16, 1998.
Richard Kopanda,
Executive Officer, SAMHSA.
[FR Doc. 98-31201 Filed 11-20-98; 8:45 am]
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