Are suppression rules designed for table cells also appropriate for maps?
To protect the privacy and confidentiality of people with cancer, United States Cancer Statistics reports require cells in tables to be suppressed when the rates are based on 15 or fewer cases (2). Application of data suppression rules for table cells also should be considered when developing cancer incidence choropleth maps. Data suppression rules are especially appropriate when counts are displayed. However, the suppression rules may be overly restrictive when rates are classified categorically or when the rate for an index county is calculated as the combined average of rates in the index county and its contiguous neighboring counties.
