Key resourcing and technology-related barriers In the pre-roundtable survey, respondents reported that the most pressing resourcing and technology-related barriers were lack of dedicated and ongoing funding to cancer registries for cancer stage and recurrence data collection/collation, the manual nature of cancer notification and registration processes, and cancer registry workforce constraints. Resourcing constraints and disparities among the cancer registries’ resourcing During the roundtable, the substantial variation in funding provided to the various cancer registries by state and territory governments was stressed. Despite consensus among roundtable attendees that the population-based cancer registries are critical to the process of national breast cancer data collection, collation and reporting, attendees underlined the differences in funding across the registries, stressing that national cancer data is constrained by the jurisdictions with the most limited resourcing. Insecure and short-term funding, aging infrastructure, inadequate human resources and the manual nature of many registry processes are key resourcing barriers highlighted by roundtable attendees in both the pre-roundtable survey and during the roundtable.
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...None of us have any resources to do it and we’re all pretty much cobbling together our registries on very limited resources as it is. So whilst we are really, really keen, we really need to get some support...We fight for our funding every year. Most of us have a large temporary workforce that we also employ to just keep going. [W]e are working on it in [name of state removed] to have a population level stage...There’s no funding for it, but we’re trying to juggle it.
Related resourcing and technology-related barriers discussed included: • Funding disparities have meant that some cancer registries have old infrastructure and technology; there are also differences in size and FTE staff between the registries, constraining national breast cancer stage and recurrence data collection, collation and reporting. • There is a need to address differences in the degree and quality of data provided to the cancer registries by health services. A number of attendees indicated cultural change is required across various hospitals and health services to ensure cancer data collection is valued, incentivised and prioritised as a routine activity. • Much of the funding provided to cancer registries for stage or recurrence data capture has been short-term or project funding; the lack of enduring and ongoing funding for breast cancer stage and recurrence data capture is a significant barrier to population-level data.
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National Roundtable Report
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