Notice2026-19079
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
September 17, 2026
Issuing agencies
Health and Human Services DepartmentSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 179 (Thursday, September 17, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 179 (Thursday, September 17, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58907-58909]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-19079]
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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 at: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7605171b1e05170604173605171b1e0517581e1e0558111900"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d9aab8b4b1aab8a9abb899aab8b4b1aab8f7b1b1aaf7beb6af">[email protected]</span></a>.
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: National Survey on Drug Use and Health (OMB No. 0930-
0110)
The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NDUH) is a survey of
the U.S. civilian, non-institutionalized population aged 12 years old
or older within the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Consistent
with NSDUH designs since 1991, the 2027 NSDUH will include residents of
noninstitutional group quarters (e.g., shelters, rooming houses,
dormitories) and civilians residing on military bases. Excluded from
the NSDUH are people without fixed household address (e.g., homeless
people not in shelters) and residents of institutional group quarters,
such as jails and hospitals.
The 2027 sampling frame will exclude U.S. territories. Although
data collection pilots were conducted to assess operational feasibility
in Puerto Rico (2023-2025) and in the U.S. Virgin Islands (2024),
SAMHSA determined that additional testing and discussions with other
statistical agencies are needed before expanding full-scale
[[Page 58908]]
NSDUH data collection to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The 2027 NSDUH will continue to use both in-person and web-based
modes of data collection. Consistent with all NSDUH surveys conducted
since 2002, each respondent who completes the full interview will be
given a $30 incentive. The delivery method will depend on the interview
mode: in-person respondents will receive a $30 cash incentive, while
web-based respondents will receive either an electronic gift card by
email or a physical gift card by mail, based on their preference.
NSDUH provides nationally representative data on the use of
tobacco, alcohol, and drugs; substance use disorders; mental health
issues; recovery from substance use disorders and mental health issues;
and receipt of substance use and mental health treatment at the
national, state, and substate levels. NSDUH data also help to identify
the extent of substance use and mental illness among different
population subgroups, estimate trends over time, and determine the need
for treatment services. Substance use topics covered include lifetime,
past-year, and past-month use; age at first use; substance use
treatment history; perceived need for treatment; and substance use
disorders. Mental health topics include major depressive episodes;
suicidal ideation and attempts; general mental illness; and use of
mental health care. NSDUH estimates allow researchers, clinicians,
policymakers, and the general public to better understand and improve
the nation's behavioral health.
The NSDUH questionnaire must be updated periodically to reflect
changing substance use and mental health issues and to continue
producing current data. For the 2027 NSDUH, planned changes from the
2026 questionnaire include: (1) revisions and additions to the Special
Drugs module to prevent inconsistent reporting of last use of specific
drugs with earlier modules; (2) revisions to the Risk/Availability
module to ask about using marijuana rather than smoking marijuana; (3)
addition to the Mental Health Services Utilization module to capture
past 12-month use of a Crisis Line service; (4) reinstatement of a
question in the Youth Experiences module about perceived attitudes of
close friends; (5) revisions to the Consumption of Alcohol module to
ask about polysubstance use in the past 30 days rather than the last
time the respondent used drugs; (6) additions to the Emerging Issues
module to measure past 12-month use of glucagon-like peptide-1
medications (GLP-1s), selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs),
serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), mood
stabilizers, and antipsychotic medications; (7) reinstatement of
questions in the Employment module about workplace testing for drug and
alcohol use; and (8) revisions to the Health Insurance and Income
modules to include updated state program names for Medicaid, the
Children's Health Insurance Program, and Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families.
Overall, these changes are expected to generate data on new areas
of interest, such as mental health medications and Crisis Line service
utilization. They will also reinstate questions previously used by
other federal agencies in their reporting and revise additional items
to prevent misreporting.
The revisions to the Special Drugs module will allow the 2027 NSDUH
to collect more consistent information across the survey and lower
interview completion time by avoiding redundant questions for some
respondents. Several questions in the Risk/Availability module were
revised to ask about ``using'' marijuana rather than ``smoking''
marijuana. This wording change is intended to measure other ways of
using marijuana that are common with youth, such as vaping or edibles.
In the Mental Health Services Utilization module, the addition of a
question capturing past 12-month use of a Crisis Line service is to
provide new data on emerging topics. Reinstating items in the Youth
Experience and Employment module will collect data needed by several
government agencies for their ongoing reporting while revising
polysubstance use questions in the Consumption of Alcohol module to a
standardized past 30-day reference period will bring this data more in
line with other NSDUH drug use questions. The new questions measuring
use of mental health medications, GLP-1s, and Crisis Line services were
added because the NSDUH did not previously include these items and they
are of growing interest to data users. Questions about workplace
testing for drug and alcohol use were also reinstated in the Employment
module to collect data needed by several government agencies for their
ongoing reporting. Finally, annual updates of state Medicaid,
Children's Health Insurance Program, and Temporary Assistance to Needy
Families program names were made to ensure question accuracy.
As with all NSDUH/NHSDA \1\ surveys conducted since 1999, the
sample size of the NSDUH for 2027 will be sufficient to permit
prevalence estimates for each of the 50 states and the District of
Columbia. The total annual burden estimate for the NSDUH is shown below
in Table 1. The primary set of new items is included in the Emerging
Issues Module, which appears near the end of the interview. By this
point, respondents are familiar with the survey format and
questionnaire structure. The additional questions will take about one
minute for an average respondent to complete, as they are short,
contained within a module, and use straightforward survey logic.
Overall, while new questions are being added, it is not expected that
the addition will result in any significant increase in participant
burden, as the survey branches efficiently to keep it short for most
respondents.
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\1\ Prior to 2002, the NSDUH was referred to as the National
Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA).
Table 1--Annualized Estimated Burden for 2027 NSDUH
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Number of Responses per Total number Hours per Total burden
Instrument respondents respondent of responses response hours
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Household Screening............. 297,529 1 297,529 0.083 24,695
Interview....................... 67,507 1 67,507 1.008 68,047
Screening Verification.......... 6,248 1 6,248 0.067 419
Interview Verification.......... 7,088 1 7,088 0.067 475
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Total....................... 378,372 .............. 378,372 .............. 93,636
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[[Page 58909]]
Send comments to SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer, 5600 Fisher
Lane, Room 15E57A, Rockville, MD 20852 OR email him a copy at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f98a9894918a98898b98b98a9894918a98d791918ad79e968f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7003111d1803110002113003111d1803115e1818035e171f06">[email protected]</span></a>. Written comments should be received by
November 16, 2026.
Alicia Broadus,
Public Health Advisor.
[FR Doc. 2026-19079 Filed 9-16-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4162-20-P
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