[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 118 (Wednesday, June 19, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28557-28559]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-13001]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket No. FDA-2016-N-2683]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; Data To Support Social and Behavioral Research as Used 
by the Food and Drug Administration

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is announcing 
an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain 
information by the Agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(PRA), Federal Agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal 
Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including 
each proposed extension of an existing collection of information, and 
to allow 60 days for public comment in response to the notice. This 
notice solicits comments on a generic clearance to collect information 
to support social and behavioral research used by FDA about drug 
products.

DATES: Submit either electronic or written comments on the collection 
of information by August 19, 2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments as follows. Please note that late, 
untimely filed comments will not be considered. Electronic comments 
must be submitted on or before August 19, 2019. The https://www.regulations.gov electronic filing system will accept comments until 
11:59 p.m. Eastern Time at the end of August 19, 2019. Comments 
received by mail/hand

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delivery/courier (for written/paper submissions) will be considered 
timely if they are postmarked or the delivery service acceptance 
receipt is on or before that date.

Electronic Submissions

    Submit electronic comments in the following way:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Comments submitted 
electronically, including attachments, to https://www.regulations.gov 
will be posted to the docket unchanged. Because your comment will be 
made public, you are solely responsible for ensuring that your comment 
does not include any confidential information that you or a third party 
may not wish to be posted, such as medical information, your or anyone 
else's Social Security number, or confidential business information, 
such as a manufacturing process. Please note that if you include your 
name, contact information, or other information that identifies you in 
the body of your comments, that information will be posted on https://www.regulations.gov.
     If you want to submit a comment with confidential 
information that you do not wish to be made available to the public, 
submit the comment as a written/paper submission and in the manner 
detailed (see ``Written/Paper Submissions'' and ``Instructions'').

Written/Paper Submissions

    Submit written/paper submissions as follows:
     Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier (for written/paper 
submissions): Dockets Management Staff (HFA-305), Food and Drug 
Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.
     For written/paper comments submitted to the Dockets 
Management Staff, FDA will post your comment, as well as any 
attachments, except for information submitted, marked and identified, 
as confidential, if submitted as detailed in ``Instructions.''
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket No. 
FDA-2016-N-2683 for ``Agency Information Collection Activities; 
Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Data to Support Social and 
Behavioral Research as Used by the Food and Drug Administration.'' 
Received comments, those filed in a timely manner (see ADDRESSES), will 
be placed in the docket and, except for those submitted as 
``Confidential Submissions,'' publicly viewable at https://www.regulations.gov or at the Dockets Management Staff between 9 a.m. 
and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
     Confidential Submissions--To submit a comment with 
confidential information that you do not wish to be made publicly 
available, submit your comments only as a written/paper submission. You 
should submit two copies total. One copy will include the information 
you claim to be confidential with a heading or cover note that states 
``THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.'' The Agency will 
review this copy, including the claimed confidential information, in 
its consideration of comments. The second copy, which will have the 
claimed confidential information redacted/blacked out, will be 
available for public viewing and posted on https://www.regulations.gov. 
Submit both copies to the Dockets Management Staff. If you do not wish 
your name and contact information to be made publicly available, you 
can provide this information on the cover sheet and not in the body of 
your comments and you must identify this information as 
``confidential.'' Any information marked as ``confidential'' will not 
be disclosed except in accordance with 21 CFR 10.20 and other 
applicable disclosure law. For more information about FDA's posting of 
comments to public dockets, see 80 FR 56469, September 18, 2015, or 
access the information at: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-09-18/pdf/2015-23389.pdf.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
the electronic and written/paper comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov and insert the docket number, found in brackets in 
the heading of this document, into the ``Search'' box and follow the 
prompts and/or go to the Dockets Management Staff, 5630 Fishers Lane, 
Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ila S. Mizrachi, Office of Operations, 
Food and Drug Administration, Three White Flint North, 10A-12M, 11601 
Landsdown St., North Bethesda, MD 20852, 301-796-7726, 
PRAStaff@fda.hhs.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the 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. 
``Collection of information'' is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 
1320.3(c) and includes Agency requests or requirements that members of 
the public submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a 
third party. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)) 
requires Federal Agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal 
Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including 
each proposed extension of an existing collection of information, 
before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To comply with 
this requirement, FDA is publishing notice of the proposed collection 
of information set forth in this document.
    With respect to the following collection of information, FDA 
invites comments on these topics: (1) Whether the proposed collection 
of information is necessary for the proper performance of FDA's 
functions, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (2) the accuracy of FDA's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways 
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, 
including through the use of automated collection techniques, when 
appropriate, and other forms of information technology.

Data To Support Social and Behavioral Research as Used by the Food and 
Drug Administration

OMB Control Number 0910-0847--Extension

    Understanding patients, consumers, and healthcare professionals' 
perceptions and behaviors plays an important role in improving FDA's 
regulatory decisionmaking processes and communications impacting 
various stakeholders. The methods used to achieve these goals include 
individual in-depth interviews, general public focus group interviews, 
intercept interviews, self-administered surveys, gatekeeper surveys, 
and focus group interviews. The methods used serve the narrowly defined 
need for direct and informal opinion on a specific topic and as a 
qualitative and quantitative research tool, and have two major 
purposes:
    1. To obtain information that is useful for developing variables 
and measures for formulating the basic objectives of social and 
behavioral research and
    2. To assess the potential effectiveness of FDA communications, 
behavioral interventions and other materials in reaching and 
successfully communicating and addressing behavioral change with their 
intended audiences.
    FDA will use these methods to test and refine its ideas and to help 
develop communication and behavioral

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strategies research, but will generally conduct further research before 
making important decisions such as adopting new policies and allocating 
or redirecting significant resources to support these policies.
    FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Center for Biologics 
Evaluation and Research, Office of the Commissioner, and any other 
Centers or Offices will use this mechanism to test communications and 
social and behavioral methods about regulated drug products on a 
variety of subjects related to consumer, patient, or healthcare 
professional perceptions, beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, and use of 
drug and biological products and related materials including, but not 
limited to, social and behavioral research, decision-making processes, 
and communication and behavioral change strategies.
    Annually, FDA projects about 45 social and behavioral studies using 
the variety of test methods listed in this document. FDA is requesting 
this burden so as not to restrict the Agency's ability to gather 
information on public sentiment for its proposals in its regulatory and 
communications programs.
    FDA estimates the burden of this collection of information as 
follows:

                                                     Table 1--Estimated Annual Reporting Burden \1\
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                                                                     Number of
                    Activity                        Number of      responses per     Total annual       Average burden per response        Total hours
                                                   respondents       respondent       responses
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Interviews/Surveys.............................           2,520             14.6           36,792   .25 (15 minutes)...................           9,198
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\1\ There are no capital costs or operating and maintenance costs associated with this collection of information.

    Based on a review of the information collection since our last 
request for OMB approval, we have made no adjustments to our burden 
estimate.

    Dated: June 14, 2019.
Lowell J. Schiller,
Principal Associate Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2019-13001 Filed 6-18-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4164-01-P


