This research analyzed and compared centrally-required items and individual hospitals-developed items for cancer registration, as well as items for regional cancer registration projects. We then suggested additional item for standardization and improvement measures. We worked with a total of 161 medical agencies consisting of 118 general hospitals and 43 specialized general hospitals which take part in nation wide cancer registration statistics in Korea.
A thesis submitted to the Committee of Graduate School of Public Health, Chungnam National University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Public Health conferred in August 2002.
The following are the findings.
First, the items of family disease history, smoking history, drinking history and favorite food surveyed only 0.6%-2.5% of the entire agencies, 2.3%-7.0% of the specialized general hospitals and 0.0%-0.8% of the general hospitals.
Second, the items of TNM staging system, summary staging, and sites of metastasis investigated only 3.7%-5.0% of the total 161 agencies, 14.0% of the specialized general hospitals and 0.0%-1.7% of the general hospitals.
Third, the items related to death and treatment investigated less than 2.5% of the entire hospitals, only 0.0%-7.0% of the specialized general hospitals and general hospitals not investigated.
Finally, the items related to discharge and hospital utilization surveyed less than 4.3% of the entire hospitals, only 2.3%-11.6% of the specialized general hospitals and only 0.0%-1.7% of the general hospitals.
Conclusively, the most hospitals missed important items. For that reason, investigation of valuable data insufficience. Therefore, improvement of nationwide cancer registration be caused by calculation of hospital, activated medical record library. The survey of cancer patients and medical treatment should be more efficiently and effectively conducted.
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