SYSTEM NAME:
Millennium Cohort Study (November 14, 2014, 79 FR 68225)
SYSTEM LOCATION:
Naval Health Research Center, Deployment Health Research, Department 164, 140 Sylvester Road, San Diego, CA 92106-3521.
CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
An initial probability-based, cross-sectional sample of U.S. Armed Forces personnel (active duty Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Air Force, and Reserve/National Guard, and veterans), as of October 2000, that will be followed prospectively by postal or web surveys every 3 years over at least a 67-year period. The initial sample was comprised of 77,047 service members including individuals who have been deployed to Southwest Asia, Bosnia, or Kosovo since August 1997. In October 2004 and October 2007, samples of 31,110 and 43,440, respectively, of new Armed Forces personnel were added to the Cohort. In May 2011, a random sample of approximately 50,000 new Armed Forces personnel was added to the Cohort. The individuals will be followed until at least the year 2068, even if they retire or separate. The Millennium Cohort Study will also evaluate families of service members by adding a spouse assessment component to the Cohort, called the Millennium Cohort Family Study, where spouses complete a survey about themselves and their children. Beginning in May 2011, a sample of approximately 10,000 spouses of Armed Forces personnel were added to the Family Cohort and will be followed until at least 2022.
CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
Demographic data: name, last four of Social Security Number (SSN), subject identification number, rank, grade, gender, military occupational specialty; health data: self-reported medical conditions and symptoms, smoking and drinking behaviors wellness, life experiences, and relationship with family. Validated instruments are incorporated to capture self-assessed physical and mental functional status (Short Form-36 Veterans), psychosocial assessment (Patient Health Questionnaire), and post-traumatic stress disorder (Patient Checklist-17). These records include all data elements previously mentioned.
Information obtained from the survey responses will be supplemented with deployment, occupational, vaccination, and healthcare utilization data related to individual health status.
AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
5 U.S.C. 301, Departmental Regulations; 10 U.S.C. 5031, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations: function, composition; 10 U.S.C. 5032, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations: general duties; DoDD 5124.02, Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness(USD(P&R)); 10 U.S.C. 136, Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness(USD(P&R)); OPNAVINST 5300.8C, Coordination and Control of Personnel Surveys; DoD 6025.18-R, DoD Health Information Privacy Regulation; and E.O. 9397 (SSN), as amended.
PURPOSE(S):
To create a probability-based database of service members and veterans who have, or have not, deployed overseas so that various longitudinal health and research studies may be conducted over a 67-year period. The database will be used:
a. To systematically collect population-based demographic and health data to evaluate the health of Armed Forces personnel throughout their careers and after leaving the service.
b. To evaluate the impact of operational deployments on various measures of health over time including medically unexplained symptoms and chronic diseases to include cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
c. To serve as a foundation upon which other routinely captured medical and deployment data may be added to answer future questions regarding the health risks of operational deployment, occupations, and general service in the Armed Forces.
d. To examine characteristics of service in the Armed Forces associated with common clinician-diagnosed diseases and with scores on several standardized self-reported health inventories for physical and psychological functional status.
e. To provide a data repository and available representative Armed Forces cohort that future investigators and policy makers might use to study important aspects of service in the Armed Forces including disease outcomes among an Armed Forces cohort.
In addition to revealing changes in veterans’ health status over time, the Millennium Cohort Study will serve as a data repository, providing a solid foundation upon which additional epidemiological studies may be constructed.
f. To access the associations of military service on the health and well-being of military families, and to compare the adjusted probabilities of new onset diseases and conditions among military spouses.
ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C. 552a(b) of the Privacy Act, these records or information contained therein may specifically be disclosed outside the DoD as a routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 522a(b)(3)
To the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) for (1) considering individual claims for benefits for which that DVA is responsible; and (2) for use in scientific, medical and other analysis regarding health outcomes research associated with military service.
To the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for use in scientific, medical and other analysis regarding health outcome research associated with military service.
NOTE All disclosures to the DVA and HHS must have prior approval of the Naval Health Research Center Institutional Review Board and a Memorandum of Understanding must be entered into to ensure the right and obligations of the signatories are clear. Access to data 1) is provided on need-to-know basis only; 2) must adhere to the rule of minimization in that only information necessary to accomplish the purpose for which the disclosure is being made is releasable; and 3) must follow strict guidelines established in the data sharing agreement.
To the Social Security Administration (SSA) for considering individual claims for benefits for which that SSA is responsible.
The DoD 'Blanket Routine Uses' that appear at the beginning of the Navy's compilation of systems of records notices apply to this system.
NOTE This system of records contains individually identifiable health information. The DoD Health Information Privacy Regulation (DoD 6025.18-R) issued pursuant to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, applies to most such health information. DoD 6025.18-R may place additional procedural requirements on the uses and disclosures of such information beyond those found in the Privacy Act of 1974 or mentioned in this system of records notice.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
STORAGE:
Paper and electronic storage media.
RETRIEVABILITY:
Records are retrieved by individual’s name and/or randomly generated subject identification number.
SAFEGUARDS:
Access to areas where records are maintained is limited to authorized personnel. Access control devices protect areas during working hours and intrusion alarm devices during non-duty hours. Access to data is provided on a need-to-know basis only. Paper records are kept in locked file cabinets. Data is stored on a secure server. All supplied sensitive information is transmitted via encrypted Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology. Randomly generated subject identification numbers are used as the primary identifier instead of the individual’s names. Electronic records can only be accessed by authorized personnel with Common Access Cards (CAC) in conjunction with a personal identification number.
RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
Electronic records and signed original paper consent forms are permanent and transferred to the nearest Federal Records Center (FRC) when 5 years old and then transferred to NARA when 20 years old. Temporary supporting records (to include paper records) are transferred to the nearest FRC when 5 years old and destroyed when 10 years old. Temporary non-record files (to include paper records or to include paper copies of the surveys) will be destroyed when 5 years old or on completion/termination of project.
SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:
Policy Official: Commanding Officer, Naval Health Research Center, 140 Sylvester Rd, San Diego, CA 92106-3521.
Record Holder: Senior Investigator, The Millennium Cohort Study, Naval Health Research Center, Deployment Health Research Department, 140 Sylvester Rd, San Diego, CA 92106-3521.
NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:
Individuals seeking to determine whether information about themselves is contained in this system should address written inquiries to the Senior Investigator, The Millennium Cohort Study, Naval Health Research Center, Deployment Health Research Department, 140 Sylvester Rd, San Diego, CA 92106-3521.
The request should contain the individual’s name and last four of SSN, subject identification number (if known) and must be signed by the individual requesting the information.
The system manager may require an original signature or a notarized signature as a means of proving the identity of the individual.
RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
Individuals seeking access to information about themselves contained in this system should address written inquiries to the Senior Investigator, The Millennium Cohort Study, Naval Health Research Center, Deployment Health Research Department, 140 Sylvester Rd, San Diego, CA 92106-3521.
The request should contain the individual’s name and last four of SSN, subject identification number (if known) and must be signed by the individual requesting the information.
The system manager may require an original signature or a notarized signature as a means of proving the identity of the individual requesting access to the records.
CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
The Navy's rules for accessing records, and for contesting contents and appealing initial agency determinations are published in Secretary of the Navy Instruction 5211.5; 32 CFR part 701; or may be obtained from the system manager.
RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
Individual participant survey instruments; Composite Health Care System (CHCS); Corporate Executive Information Systems; Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC); Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS); Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services; MHS Data Repository (MDR); Armed Forces Health Longitudinal Technology Application (AHLTA); Armed Forces Medical Examiner System (AFMES); National Data Index (NDI); Army Medical Surveillance Activity (AMSA); Joint Theater Trauma Registry (JTTR); Department of Veterans Affairs Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS); survey research instruments and health research records at Naval Medical Center, San Diego; and individual physical exams and biological specimens.
EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:
None.
FEDERAL REGISTER HISTORY:
June 16, 2003, 68 FR 35664; November 14, 2014, 79 FR 68225