The Northern Ireland Cancer Registry.
The Northern Ireland Cancer Registry was evaluated using a 5% sample of all cancers diagnosed histologically in 1983 as the standard for comparison. The overall registration rate was low. Two years following histological diagnosis only 63% of the cancers were registered and 19% of these were notified solely by the Registrar General's office. In a subgroup of patients who were known to have died by the time of the study, only 49% of the cancers were registered while the patient was alive. A further 30% of cases were registered only after death and 21% of cases went unregistered. There was no significant variation in registrations by area, by hospital or by age group. There was a considerable variation in registration rate by disease group. A low level of awareness among hospital doctors about the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry was postulated as a reason for the low levels of registrations received. This was investigated through a postal questionnaire. A response rate of 51% was achieved after two postings. Both the response rate and level of knowledge varied by grade and specialty of the doctor. Only 43% of responders knew of the existence of the cancer registry and only 2% registered patients more often than once a year. Possible methods for improving the system are discussed.
Gavin
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Evans
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D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology; D009660:Northern Ireland; D011897:Random Allocation; D012042:Registries / Q000592:standards; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires