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Bowel cancer screening test cluster

Definition

The Bowel cancer screening test cluster comprises a set of standardised data definitions used for monitoring the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program. This cluster includes information on people who participated in the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program and undertook a disease screening test.

This metadata set is not mandated for collection, i.e. it reflects best practice when collecting data in relation to bowel screening rather than a nationally mandated set of data items that must be provided.

It is intended to be used by the National Bowel Cancer Screening Register. It can also be used by a wider range of health and health-related professionals who collect and/or use the data in relation to the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program.

Metadata items in this Data Set Specification

Below is a list of all the components within this Dataset Specification.
Each entry includes the item name, whether the item is optional, mandatory or conditional and the maximum times the item can occur in a dataset.
If the items must occur in a particular order in the dataset, the sequence number is included before the item name.

Data Elements
Reference Data Element Data Type Length Inclusion #
Person—cancer screening test type, bowel cancer code N - - mandatory 1
Person—disease screening test completion status, bowel screening code N - - mandatory 1
Person—cancer screening test result, bowel cancer code N[A]
Specific Information:

A faecal occult blood test (FOBT) screening test is:

  • positive if blood was detected in either sample
  • negative if blood was not detected in either sample
  • inconclusive if only one sample was taken and it was negative
  • no result if screening test could not be analysed.

Other screening tests, when they become available, may have different indications for positive results. However, a positive result with any screening test is one that means further investigations are required.

Participants with a positive result are encouraged to visit their primary health care professional to follow up this finding. Those with an inconclusive result are requested to complete another FOBT kit, while those with a negative result are reminded that it is recommended they rescreen every two years.

At this stage, the screening pathway does not account for false negatives or positives.
 - - mandatory 1

References


This content Based on Australian Institute of Health and Welfare material. Attribution provided as required under the AIHW CC-BY licence.

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Relation Count
As a numerator in an Indicator 0
As a denominator in an Indicator 0
As a disaggregation in an Indicator 0