SPARC: Survey-Based Population-Adjusted Rate Calculator
Featuring Mortality by Birthplace

Currently Available Dataset

SPARC is a web-based tool to calculate age-adjusted rates (AA Rates) of cancer incidence or mortality when the at-risk populations are estimated from representative sample surveys, such as the American Community Survey or the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. This tool advances cancer disparity research and surveillance by expanding critical risk factors to include those that are collected in central cancer registries or the National Vital Statistics System, but not in decennial censuses, such as birthplace, education status, or hysterectomy status.

SPARC uses bias-corrected estimators to account for the impact of sampling error in at-risk population estimates on the inference of AA Rates and disparity assessments of AA Rates. Sampling error occurs when the at-risk population is estimated using a sample rather than a census. If not accounted for, sampling error causes bias toward overestimation of an AA rate and underestimation of the variability of an AA Rate. The magnitude of bias increases as the estimate of population at-risk becomes less stable. The comparison of AA Rates for disparity assessment is likely also biased. An overview of bias-corrected methods is provided in the Methodology section.

SPARC has a wide range of applications, with the first application featuring Mortality Rates by Birthplace. For details on data sources, variable definitions, suppression rules of AA Rate, data completeness, etc., refer to Mortality Rates by Birthplace.

Last Updated: 12 Mar, 2024