Att C-1.WLM Survey_09BV

Form Approved

OMB No. 0920-xxxx

Expiration Date xx/xx/xxxx

Centers for Disease Control: National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR)

National Cancer Registrar’s Association (NCRA)

Workload & Time Management Survey

Survey Due Date: XXXX XX, 200X

This survey requires one (1) week of data collection prior to entering the data online.

Please read the recommended steps for completing the survey carefully.

Recommended Steps for Completing the Survey

Preparing to fill out the online survey:

1. Review and understand the survey materials contained in the PDF that was linked to the e-mailed survey invitation.

   1. The PDF contains three (3) documents, including

      1. Instructions for completing the Work Activities Journal

      2. The Work Activities Journal

      3. A glossary of words and terms used in the survey

   2. You can click here to open and print the PDF now.

2. As described in its instructions, the Work Activities Journal is intended to be used by your staff/cancer registrars.

3. Please print a copy of the PDF file/survey materials for each staff person/cancer registrar.

4. Give the survey materials to your staff/cancer registrars; ask that they fill out the Work Activities Journal for one (1) week.

5. At the end of the week, collect the Work Activities Journal sheets.

6. Total the amount of time per activity across all sheets, keeping in mind that there is no expectation that the totals will be equivalent to a fulltime work day, week, or month.

Public reporting burden of this collection of information is estimated to average 4 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.  An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.  Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden to CDC/ATSDR Reports Clearance Officer; 1600 Clifton Road NE, MS D-74, Atlanta, Georgia 30333; ATTN: PRA (0920-xxxx)

7. Enter the totals into a fresh journal Work Activities Journal sheet, for your use in filling out the survey.

8. Obtain a copy of your annual report from 200X.

Now you are ready to fill out the online survey:

9. Expect to spend about 1-2 hours filling out the online portion of the survey.

10. Have the following items with you when you sit down to do the survey:

    1. Your Work Activities Journal totals

    2. Your annual report from 2006

11. Words and term that are defined in the glossary are hyperlinked on the survey website; click on them to access their definitions.

12. Please try to answer each question.

13. If none of the answer choices is just right for you, please check the one answer that fits best.

14. If you need to log out or close your web browser, click “save and log out.” Your answers will be saved. Later, you can return to the survey by logging in with the same password and User ID. Keep in mind that although your data will be saved, you will be returned to the beginning of the survey. It will be useful to note the number of the last question that you answer if you intend to return later to complete the survey.

If you need help with the survey, please contact Vanessa Lindler at

The Center for the Health Professions:

(415) 867-1556

vanessa@thecenter.ucsf.edu

Survey Begins on Next Page

Section I: Facility and Registry Characteristics

1. In what state is your registry located? Drop down menu

2. Where is your registry housed? (Choose the one best answer)

• State Health Department

• Contractor

• University

• Other – please specify: __________________

3. Please enter the following reference year(s) for your registry.

*Please note: If you do not have a reference year for a particular entity, leave blank.

3a. SEER __________________.

3b. NPCR _________________.

3c. Other – Specify: __________________; Enter year: __________________.

4. Does your registry currently have workload standards in place?

• Yes, for all positions

• Yes, for some positions

• No, none at all

Section II: Caseload Size and Composition

*Please note: For all questions in this section, answers should be based on the calendar year 200X.

5. In 200X, what was the total number of source records the registry received from all reporting and casefinding sources? __________

6. In Table 1, please specify the number of source records received from each type of reporting/casefinding source in 200X (i.e., the records referenced in question 5.)

Table 1. Number of Source Records in 200X

Reporting/Casefinding Source	Number of Source Records
6a. Hospital Registries
a1. CoC approved (exclude VA and DoD)
a2. Non-CoC approved (exclude VA and DoD)
a3. VA hospitals
a4. DoD hospitals
6b. Data exchange: Records received from other states
6c. Pathology labs
6d. Death certificate only
6e. SEER regional registry(ies)
6f. Other regional registry(ies)
6g. Other sources (specify in the rows provided below)
g1.
g2.
g3.

7. After consolidation, what was the total number of unique, reportable cancer cases received by your registry in 200X?

___________________________

8. What was the total number of non-reportable cancer cases received by your registry in 200X, regardless of diagnosis year?

___________________________

9. In Table 2, please estimate the overall number of your registry’s total source records received in 200X (i.e., the records referenced in question 5), through each of the reporting formats/methods listed.

*Please note: If you did not receive records through a specific format/method, enter 0.

Table 2. Records Received in 200X

Format/Method of Receipt	Number of Records
9a. Paper abstracts that required data entry
9b. Charts/source documents sent to the CCR office to be abstracted and entered

Table 2. Continued

Format/Method of Receipt	Number of Records
9c. Central registrar traveled to hospital/facility registry and abstracted records.
9d. Electronic records submitted by reporting source in an e-mail attachment
9e. Electronic records submitted by reporting source using an internet website
9f. Electronic records submitted by reporting source on a compact disc
9g. Other format/method
9gb. Please specify this format/method

Section III: Staffing and Administration

10. Which of the following most closely approximates the job title of the person filling out this survey? Choose the one best answer.

• Registry Director

• Registry Manager

• Registry Supervisor

• Principal Investigator

• Data Editor

11. Use the following instructions to fill out Table 3.

In columns with dates:

Please enter the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) cancer registry positions in your registry at the beginning of the fiscal years indicated in Table 3. Include positions outside the registry only if the registry pays a portion of the salary.

*Please note: Budgeted positions (11a) should be the sum of filled (11b) and vacant (11c) positions.

Survey Continues on Next Page

Table 3: Staff Size, Vacancies, and Turnover

Permanent FTE Cancer Registry Positions	Fiscal Year 200X	Fiscal Year 200X
11a. Number of budgeted FTE positions (11a = 11b + 11c)
11b. Number of filled FTE positions
11c. Number of vacant FTE positions

12. Does your registry currently employ contract staff?

• Yes

• No Skip to Question #15

13. On what basis does your registry currently employ contract staff?

• Temporary Skip to Question #15

• Permanent

• Both temporary and permanent

14. What is the number of permanent FTEs that is currently covered by contract staff?

__________________

Section IV: Reporting

15. Please tell us if your registry reports records to each of the agencies specified in questions 15a-15d.

15a. Does your registry report to CDC/NPCR?

• Yes

• No

15b. Does your registry report to NCI/SEER?

• Yes

• No

15c. Does your registry report to NAACCR?

• Yes

• No

15d1. Does your registry report to another agency/institution that we did not mention?

• Yes

• No Skip to Question #16

15d2. What is the name of this agency/institution?

_____________________________________________

15d3. What is the primary format used to report to this agency/institution?

• E-mail

• Web/Internet

• Compact disc

• Other ______________________

Section V. Registry Procedures

16. Does your registry staff do rapid case ascertainment?

• Yes

• No Skip to Question #18

17. How frequently does your registry staff do rapid case ascertainment?

• Rarely

• Sometimes

• Often

18. Does your registry do active follow-up?

• Yes

• No Skip to Question #20

19. How frequently does your registry do active follow up?

• Rarely

• Sometimes

• Often

20. How frequently does your registry receive death files?

• Monthly

• Quarterly

• Yearly

21. Central registries differ in how they manage their death clearance activities. Regardless of when or how frequently they receive death files, some may designate a specific period of months towards the end of the year for death clearance (yearly). Others may do death clearance more frequently throughout the year, perhaps on a quarterly or monthly basis.

How does your registry manage its death clearance activities?

• Monthly

• Quarterly

• Yearly

22. On what death certificate items does your registry do follow-back? (Check all that apply)

• Name

• Demographics

• Underlying cause of death

• Multiple causes of death

• ICD-10 codes

• Other ______________________

Section VI. Data Management and Automation

23. What type of cancer data software does your registry use for abstracting data? (Choose the one best answer)

• CDC Abstract Plus and/or Web Plus

• Commercial cancer registry system vendor

• State developed or other in-house software

• Spreadsheet/database software (Examples: Excel, Access)

• Other – please specify: ___________________________

24. What type of software does your registry use for data management?

(Choose the one best answer)

• SEER*DMS / DMS Central

• RegistryPlus

• Commercial cancer registry system vendor

• State developed or other in-house software

• Other – please specify: ___________________________

25. What type(s) of software does your registry use for data analysis?

(Check all that apply)

• SEER*Stat

• Commercial cancer register system vendor

• State developed or other in-house software

• Commercial statistical software package (Examples: SPSS, SAS, STATA)

• Spreadsheet/database software (Examples: Excel, Access)

• Other – please specify: ___________________________

26. How does your registry perform record consolidation?

• All electronic

• All manual

• Combination of electronic and manual

27. Who is responsible for your registry’s geo-coding?

• Regular registry staff

• Contract staff

• Other – please specify: __________________

Section VII: Staff Activities and Workload

Weekly Activities (begins with Casefinding, on row 4 of the Work Activities Journal)

28a. Manual casefinding: ______________________________(row 5)

28b. Electronic casefinding: ____________________________(row 6)

28c. Abstracting at hospital/facility: ______________________(row 8)

28d. Abstracting at central registry: ______________________(row 9)

28e. Active follow-up: _________________________________(row 11)

28f. Passive follow-up: ________________________________(row 12)

28g. Visual editing: ____________________________________(row 14)

28h. Manual case consolidation: ________________________(row 15)

28i. Electronic case consolidation: _______________________(row 16)

28k. Resolving EDIT reports: ___________________________(row 17)

28j. Resolving other quality control issues: ____________________(row 18)

Monthly Activities (begins with Audits, on row 21 of the Work Activities Journal)

29a. Casefinding audits: ______________________________(row 22)

29b. Re-abstracting audits: ____________________________(row 23)

29c. Database management: ___________________________(row 25)

Yearly Activities (begins with Training/Development, on row 27 of the Work Activities Journal)

30a. Training/development of central registry staff: ________________________(row 28)

30b. Training/development of reporting facility staff: _______________________(row 29)

30c. Travel for registry operations: _____________________________________(row 31)

30d. Travel for education/workshops/conferences: _________________________(row 32)

30e. Death clearance matching: ______________________________________(row 34)

30f. Death clearance follow back: _____________________________________(row 35)

Section VIII: Your Opinions About Cancer Registry Workload

31. What are your greatest concerns regarding the staffing of your registry? Please indicate the level of concern you have for each of the following items, using this scale:

1. Not concerned

2. Slightly concerned

3. Moderately concerned

4. Definitely concerned

5. Strongly concerned

6. Extremely concerned

31a. __________________ Funding additional positions

31b. __________________ Compensating staff well enough to retain them

31c. __________________ Finding qualified staff

31d. __________________ Funds for education and training

31e. __________________ Finding adequate work space for staff

31. Thinking about your staff overall, what are your greatest concerns about them? Please indicate the level of concern you have for each of the following items, using this scale:

1. Not concerned

2. Slightly concerned

3. Definitely concerned

4. Moderately concerned

5. Strongly concerned

6. Extremely concerned

32a. __________________ Adequate knowledge/skill to carry out assigned tasks

32b. __________________ Learning changes to coding requirements

32c. __________________ Learning changes to reporting requirements

32d. __________________ Motivation

32e. __________________ Work ethic

32f. __________________ Accuracy of their work

32g. __________________ Speed of their work

31. To what degree does your staff need additional training/continuing education in the following topics? Please indicate the degree of your staff’s need for training/continuing education in each of these topic areas, using this scale:

1. No need

2. Slight need

3. Moderate need

4. Definite need

5. Strong need

6. Extreme need

33a. __________________ Collaborative Staging

33b. __________________ Software training

33c. __________________ Medical terminology

33d. __________________ Multiple primary/histology coding

33e. __________________ Anatomy and physiology

33f. __________________ SEER requirements

33g. __________________ NPCR and/or state requirements

33h. __________________ NCDB/CoC requirements

33i. __________________ General registry operations

31. To what degree does your staff need the following items to do a better job? Please indicate the degree to which your staff needs each of these items, using this scale:

1. No need

2. Slight need

3. Moderate need

4. Definite need

5. Strong need

6. Extreme need

34a. __________________ Computer hardware

34b. __________________ Computer software

34c. __________________ Work space

34d. __________________ Supervisory support

34e. __________________ Administrative support

34f. __________________ Another FTE registrar

Survey Continues on Next Page

31. Are there other things we did not mention that your staff needs to do a better job?

• Yes

• No Skip to Question #37

31. Please enter up to 3 things that your staff needs to do a better job.

36a. ______________________________________________________

36b. ______________________________________________________

36c. ______________________________________________________

31. Are there things that you need to do a better job?

• Yes

• No Skip to Question #39

31. Please enter up to 3 things that you need to do a better job.

38a. ______________________________________________________

38b. ______________________________________________________

38c. ______________________________________________________

Survey Continues on Next Page

31. Please provide any additional comments here.

Thank you for participating in our survey. We appreciate your input on workload and job activities in Central Cancer Registries. Your survey responses will be used to develop workload and staffing standards for central registries, which can be used to improve working conditions for cancer registrars.

An electronic copy of the executive summary of our report will be e-mailed to you when the report has been completed.

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