ArticleBMC medical research methodology2019
Using data linkage to enhance the reporting of cancer outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in NSW, Australia.
Article in BMC medical research methodology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Factors associated with cancer survival disparities among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples compared with other Australians: A systematic review.Frontiers in oncology · 2022Pooled it
- The impact of genetics and the environment on cancer risk in Indigenous Australians: a narrative review.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2025Review
- Current gaps in knowledge and future research directions for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children with cancer.The Medical journal of Australia · 2025Review
- An Assessment of Radiotherapy and Surgery Utilisation and Health Outcomes, in Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal People With Cancer in NSW, Australia, 2009-2018.Journal of medical imaging and radiation oncology · 2025Article
- Understanding co-production of injury research in Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities: a comprehensive scoping review.Injury epidemiology · 2025Article
- Article
- The effect of general practice contact on cancer stage at diagnosis in Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal residents of New South Wales.Cancer causes & control : CCC · 2023Article
- Lung, breast and bowel cancer treatment for Aboriginal people in New South Wales: a population-based cohort study.Internal medicine journal · 2021Article
- Accuracy of reporting of Aboriginality on administrative health data collections using linked data in NSW, Australia.BMC medical research methodology · 2020Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAboriginal people are known to be under-recorded in routinely collected datasets in Australia. This study examined methods for enhancing the reporting of cancer incidence among Aboriginal people using linked data methodologies.
methodsInvasive cancers diagnosed in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, in 2010-2014 were identified from the NSW Cancer Registry (NSWCR). The NSWCR data were linked to the NSW Admitted Patient Data Collection, the NSW Emergency Department Data Collection and the Australian Coordinating Register Cause of Death Unit Record File. The following methods for enhancing the identification of Aboriginal people were used: 'ever-reported', 'reported on most recent record', 'weight of evidence' and 'multi-stage median'. The impact of these methods on the number of cancer cases and age-standardised cancer incidence rates (ASR) among Aboriginal people was explored.
resultsOf the 204,948 cases of invasive cancer, 2703 (1.3%) were recorded as Aboriginal on the NSWCR. This increased with enhancement methods to 4184 (2.0%, 'ever'), 3257 (1.6%, 'most recent'), 3580 (1.7%, 'weight of evidence') and 3583 (1.7%, 'multi-stage median'). Enhancement was generally greater in relative terms for males, people aged 25-34 years, people with cancers of localised or unknown degree of spread, people living in urban areas and areas with less socio-economic disadvantage. All enhancement methods increased ASRs for Aboriginal people. The weight of evidence method increased the overall ASR by 42% for males (894.1 per 100,000, 95% CI 844.5-945.4) and 27% for females (642.7 per 100,000, 95% CI 607.9-678.7). Greatest relative increases were observed for melanoma and prostate cancer incidence (126 and 63%, respectively). ASRs for prostate and breast cancer increased from below to above the ASRs of non-Aboriginal people with enhancement of Aboriginal status.
conclusionsAll data linkage methods increased the number of cancer cases and ASRs for Aboriginal people. Enhancement varied by demographic and cancer characteristics. We considered the weight of evidence method to be most suitable for population-level reporting of cancer incidence among Aboriginal people. The impact of enhancement on disparities in cancer outcomes between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people should be further examined.
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