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. 2017 Aug;60(8):689-695.
doi: 10.1002/ajim.22739.

Capture and coding of industry and occupation measures: Findings from eight National Program of Cancer Registries states

MaryBeth B Freeman  1 , Lori A Pollack  1 , Judy R Rees  2 , Christopher J Johnson  3 , Randi K Rycroft  4 , David L Rousseau  5 , Mei-Chin Hsieh  6 ; enhancement of NPCR for comparative effectiveness research team
Affiliations

Capture and coding of industry and occupation measures: Findings from eight National Program of Cancer Registries states

MaryBeth B Freeman et al. Am J Ind Med. 2017 Aug.

Abstract

Background: Although data on industry and occupation (I&O) are important for understanding cancer risks, obtaining standardized data is challenging. This study describes the capture of specific I&O text and the ability of a web-based tool to translate text into standardized codes.

Methods: Data on 62 525 cancers cases received from eight National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR) states were submitted to a web-based coding tool developed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health for translation into standardized I&O codes. We determined the percentage of sufficiently analyzable codes generated by the tool.

Results: Using the web-based coding tool on data obtained from chart abstraction, the NPCR cancer registries achieved between 48% and 75% autocoding, but only 12-57% sufficiently analyzable codes.

Conclusions: The ability to explore associations between work-related exposures and cancer is limited by current capture and coding of I&O data. Increased training of providers and registrars, as well as software enhancements, will improve the utility of I&O data.

Keywords: NIOCCS; NPCR; cancer; industry; occupation.

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Conflict of interest statement

DISCLOSURE (AUTHORS)

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Percent of occupation (O) and industry (I) text fields auto-coded by the NIOCCS tool at high (90%) confidence level, eight cancer registries. ”Auto-coded” data include codes for specific industries and occupations, as well as unknown, retired, never worked, and military. AK, Alaska; CA, California; CO, Colorado; LA, Louisiana; NC, North Carolina; NH, New Hampshire; RI, Rhode Island; TX, Texas. Florida and Idaho were excluded because text data were unavailable
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Comparison of types of occupation (O) and industry (I) data auto-coded by registry at high (90%) confidence level of the NIOCCS tool, eight cancer registries. *Sufficient includes codes that define an occupation (eg, nurse) and industry (eg, healthcare). ^Unknown includes cases missing I&O text. **Never worked includes homemaker, student, volunteer, and never worked. I&O text that was not auto-coded is not included in this figure. AK, Alaska; CA, California; CO, Colorado; LA, Louisiana; NC, North Carolina; NH, New Hampshire; RI, Rhode Island; TX, Texas. Florida and Idaho were excluded because text data were unavailable
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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