Legal Info

Legal information for AboutKidsHealth.ca

1. General Website Terms of Use

3. Conflict of Interest Policy

6. Illustrated Image Use Policy

1. General Website Terms of Use

IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU READ ALL OF THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS CAREFULLY. Your access to and continued use of the AboutKidsHealth website (www.aboutkidshealth.ca) (the "Site") of The Hospital for Sick Children ("SickKids") constitutes your acceptance of, and is conditional upon, your continued acceptance of and compliance with the following provisions. Please check back periodically as these terms and conditions may change from time to time. Your continued use of the Site will mean you accept those changes.

Last revised: March 2017

Copyright © 2004- 2024 The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. All rights reserved. All information on the Site (the "Information") is protected by copyright owned by The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) ("we", "us" or "our") or other contributors. Certain words, phrases, names, designs or logos used on the Site may constitute trademarks, service marks or trade names of SickKids or other entities.

Users of the Site ("you") are granted a limited non-exclusive licence to use (or display or print) the Information pursuant to these terms of use only, and only if you do not modify the Information and retain, in unmodified form, all copyright and other proprietary notices. Any other use is strictly prohibited without our prior permission and the permission of the applicable rights holders. None of the Information may be otherwise reproduced, republished or re-disseminated in any manner or form without the prior written consent of an authorized representative of SickKids.

Disclaimer

The Information on the Site, including but not limited to newsletters, articles, opinions, and views, is provided for educational information purposes only. It is not designed or intended to constitute medical advice or to be used for diagnosis. Due to unique individual needs, you should consult your personal physician to determine the appropriateness of the Information for your specific situation and before making any decision regarding treatment or medication. Please consult with your physician before making any decision regarding treatment or medication. Online resources are not a substitute for the personalized judgment and care of a trained medical professional.

The information on the Site is not for emergency or crisis help. If you require emergency help, contact your local emergency services: in Ontario, call 911 or go to your local hospital emergency room. You may also call TeleHealth Ontario, a free 24/7 service of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care at 1-866-797-0000 (or for more information about how to speak directly with a registered nurse, visit them on-line at: https://health811.ontario.ca/static/guest/home).

Any Information created by us is believed to be reliable when posted and may be changed from time to time without notice. You assume full responsibility for the use of the Information and rely on it at your own risk. The Information is supplied "AS IS" and may contain typographical or other errors. Certain portions of the Information may have been contributed by other persons and should not be assumed to have been reviewed or endorsed by us. SickKids does not guarantee or warrant the quality, accuracy, completeness, timeliness, appropriateness, or suitability of the Information. We also expressly disclaim all warranties, representations, and conditions regarding the use of the Site or the Information. We assume no obligation to update the Information or advise on further developments concerning the topics mentioned. Neither SickKids nor the contributors of any Information are responsible for any damages whatsoever, arising out of or in connection with the use of the Site or your reliance on the Information, whether in contract (including fundamental breach), tort (including negligence), or otherwise.

Reference to, or mention of, specific products, processes, or services do not constitute or imply a recommendation or endorsement by us. Reasonable effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of drug doses; however, you should always confirm and follow the doses and schedules set out by the drug manufacturers. We do not accept responsibility for your reliance on any drug doses that may be set out on the Site.

Any links we provide to other websites are provided only as references to help you identify and locate other Internet resources that may be of interest. These other websites were independently developed by parties other than SickKids and we do not assume responsibility for the accuracy or appropriateness of the information contained, or endorse the viewpoints expressed, at those other websites. Your use of any third party website is at your own risk and is subject to the terms of use of that website.

Limitation of Liability

In no event shall SickKids, its affiliates, its officers, directors, employees, agents, licensors or their respective successors and assigns be liable for any special, indirect, incidental or consequential damages of any kind, including, without limitation, personal injury resulting from following any advice given on the Site, any loss or damages in the nature of or relating to lost business, lost savings, lost data or otherwise, regardless of the cause – and in no event shall any of those persons or entities be liable for damages exceeding $50.00 CDN – under this agreement, whether arising in contract (including fundamental breach), tort (including negligence), or otherwise. This limitation applies even if SickKids knew of or ought to have known of the possibility of such damages.

SickKids expressly disclaims any and all liability for the acts, omissions or conduct of any third-party user of the Site or any advertiser or sponsor of the Site (collectively, a "Third Party"). Under no circumstances shall SickKids or its officers, directors, employees, agents, or licensors be liable for any injury, loss, damage (including special, indirect, incidental or consequential damages), or expense arising in any manner whatsoever, directly or indirectly, from (1) the acts, omissions, or conduct of a Third Party; or (2) any use or inability to use any materials, software, content, goods or services located at or made available at any website linked to or from the Site.

If you decide to access or use any linked website or content, materials, software, goods or services from any website linked to or from the Site, you do so entirely at your own risk.

You hereby release SickKids and its officers, directors, employees, agents and their respective successors and assigns from any injury, loss, damages or expenses that you may incur, and agree not to assert any claims against them, arising directly or indirectly from your purchase or use of any products or services referenced by or made available through the Site or by third parties through the Site.

Applicable Law

This is a Canadian website and its content is intended for Canadian residents only. The laws of the Province of Ontario shall govern this agreement and any dispute or claim based on your use of the Site or the information. You agree that any action or proceeding related to this agreement or your use of the Site shall only be brought by you in the courts of the Province of Ontario.

These terms of use set forth the entire understanding and agreement between SickKids and you with respect to the Site.

Return to top

2. Privacy Policy

SickKids has a set of rules, set out in the SickKids Privacy Policy, which addresses how it will deal with the privacy of personal and health information it acquires about its patients. AboutKidsHealth follows this policy. An overview of the SickKids Privacy Policy is here: www.sickkids.ca/en/patients-visitors/privacy/

Personal Information

Personal information is any information that can be used to distinguish, identify, or contact a specific individual. Business contact information and certain publicly available information, such as names, addresses and telephone numbers as published in telephone directories, are not considered personal information.

Google Analytics

The Site uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google Inc. ("Google"). Google Analytics uses "cookies" which are text files placed on your computer. The "cookies" assist the Site operator to analyze how visitors use the Site and to analyze the information generated by the "cookies" (including your IP address). This information will be transmitted to and stored by Google. Google uses the information for the purposes of compiling reports on Site activity for the Site operator, evaluating your use of the Site and providing other services related to internet usage and website activity. By using this Site you agree to the use of Google Analytics. For more information on Google’s privacy policy, please visit their website: https://policies.google.com/privacy?gl=CA&hl=en-US

You may refuse the use of "cookies" by using the appropriate settings in your internet browser if your browser permits. However, by doing so you may be unable to use the full functionality of our Site.

Google Adwords and Facebook remarketing services

This Site also uses Google Adwords and Facebook remarketing services and may use other third-party remarketing services, to advertise about SickKids, its foundation and other affiliates, across the internet on third party websites accessed by you once you have visited this Site. This remarketing could, for example, be in the form of an advertisement placed on the Google search results page or on Facebook. Google, Facebook and other third-party vendors use cookies to serve such ads to you based on your past visits to this Site. By using this Site you agree to the use of Google Adwords and Facebook remarketing services.

You can opt-out of Google Adwords and Facebook remarketing by visiting the links below:

Collection, Use, Disclosure, and Retention of Personal Information

AboutKidsHealth respects your privacy; we do not sell, rent, or trade information about our users. We collect, use, and disclose personal information only with your consent, and after identifying the purposes for which the personal information is collected. Generally, personal information is collected to improve the operation of the Site, process requests, run contests, and/or respond to feedback. We also use contact information to send periodic e-mail alerts or bulletins to subscribers who have opted to use this service.

We are accountable to you, and anyone from whom we collect information can expect that it will be carefully protected and that any use or disclosure of this information is subject to consent.

The Site allows visitors to provide comments using web forms which request personal information, such as an email address. Our web server also creates a log of each visitor’s IP address, browser type, which documents were accessed, and similar types of information. AboutKidsHealth may use cookies on certain areas of the Site to provide continuity between Web pages.

We sometimes run contests to win various prizes. To enter these contests, you must provide information that will allow us to contact you if you win a prize. All contact information submitted with entries will be destroyed once the winner has been confirmed.

We also take measures to ensure the integrity of this information is maintained and to prevent its being lost or destroyed.

Children under 13 must get permission from a parent before submitting any personal information to the Site.

SickKids urges all parents and legal guardians to supervise their children’s exploration of the Internet and any online services, and to teach their children about protecting their personal information online. If you reside in the United States, we encourage you to visit https://consumer.ftc.gov/identity-theft-and-online-security/protecting-kids-online for more information about COPPA and children’s privacy.

When you sign up to receive AboutKidsHealth newsletters, your contact information may be shared with SickKids Foundation for communication purposes. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Electronic Commerce

Donations to AboutKidsHealth are managed by the SickKids Foundation. The SickKids Foundation uses password protocols and secure websites to protect personal and other information received when an online donation is made or merchandise is purchased. The Foundation's software is routinely updated to maximize protection of such information. For more information, please consult the SickKids Foundation's Privacy Policy at: https://www.sickkidsfoundation.com/privacypolicy

Updating of Privacy Policy

We regularly review our privacy practices for our various activities, and update our policy. Information on our Site is updated regularly.

Contact Information

If at any time you wish to be excluded from future contacts, or to discuss our privacy options, email: about.kidshealth@sickkids.ca and we will accommodate your request. If you have questions, concerns or complaints relating to our privacy policy, please contact the SickKids Privacy Office at:

The Hospital for Sick Children

555 University Avenue

Toronto, Ontario

M5G 1X8

E-mail: privacy.office@sickkids.ca

Phone: 416-813-7474

Return to top

3. Conflict of Interest Policy

All authors and reviewers of content for the AboutKidsHealth website are required to fill out and submit a conflict of interest form at the start of each project. Each author and reviewer is asked to fully disclose any financial or other interests they may have for any aspect of the submitted work and any relevant financial relationships outside of the submitted work.

If there is a declared conflict of interest the Chief Medical Editor will review it and decide if the project can move forward. If the Chief Medical Editor does not feel able to make a decision it will be escalated to the Editorial Advisory Board.

Conflict of interest forms are archived electronically with each project. Any external requests for this information will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis in collaboration with SickKids Communications and Public Affairs.

Return to top

4. Linking Policy

We make every effort to link to reliable websites that will be of benefit to our users; however, no link on the Site is a referral or endorsement of either the owner of the linked website or any product or service mentioned on it, as described in more detail above.

Linking TO AboutKidsHealth.ca

AboutKidsHealth.ca encourages other websites to link to us. Please refer to and use the following guidelines when setting up a link to the Site.

Where appropriate, we encourage "deep linking" to relevant pages rather than to the Site’s home page.
AboutKidsHealth and The Hospital for Sick Children do not endorse companies, products, or services, and strictly prohibit any suggestion of endorsement, recommendation, or superiority of one company, product, or service over another company, product, or service.
Please do not frame the Site in your web template.

Linking FROM AboutKidsHealth.ca

You are welcome to submit links to us for consideration, but we do not guarantee that we will link to your website. AboutKidsHealth does not provide links from the Site to external commercial websites except as specified by a pre-existing sponsorship agreement or contract, partnership, or other contractual business relationship. For more information, please see our Sponsorship page.

Return to top

5. Content Reuse Policy

Printing

You are welcome to print pages or PDFs from the Site, without modification, for your own use or for patient and family education. We recommend that you do NOT save PDFs from the Site to your own computer or system, as the content included on the Site is frequently updated.

Copying

For purposes of review or promotion of the Site, you may quote short (no more than 100 words) sections of the Site without express permission. Please give an appropriate citation or acknowledgement and a link to the relevant page. Except as noted above, copying and publishing Site content to another website, e-newsletter, book, magazine, or other medium for any reason is forbidden without express permission.

Scraping

Scraping of any content from this Site, whether automatically or manually, is strictly forbidden.

Educational use

Students and educators may use AboutKidsHealth content in presentations or reports, provided that an appropriate citation and link appears next to the reprinted material. However, please note that all the materials on this Site are protected by internationally recognized intellectual property laws, including copyright.

Photographs

Photographs on this Site are used under licence from the copyright owners. We do not have permission to sell or license the photographs for reuse and assume no liability whatsoever should you chose to reproduce them. Any reuse of material on the Site constitutes an express acknowledgement of the General Terms of Use.

Citing AboutKidsHealth.ca

APA style:

Author last name and initial. (Publication date). Article title. Retrieved from URL.

Tiller, J. (2012, March 19). Your toddler’s declaration of independence. Retrieved from http://www.aboutkidshealth.ca/En/News/NewsAndFeatures/Pages/Your-toddlers-declaration-of-independence.aspx

For articles with no author:

Article title. (Publication date). Retrieved from URL on date (if the article is likely to change)

Asthma warning signs. (2009, January 29). Retrieved from https://www.aboutkidshealth.ca/En/ResourceCentres/Asthma/ControllingYourChildsAsthma/Pages/Asthma-Warning-Signs.aspx on July 10, 2012.

International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) style:

Author last name and initial. Article title [Internet]. Toronto: The Hospital for Sick Children; publication year [citation date]. Available from: URL

Tiller J. Your toddler’s declaration of independence [Internet]. Toronto: The Hospital for Sick Children; 2012 [cited 2012 July 10]. Available from: http://www.aboutkidshealth.ca/En/News/NewsAndFeatures/Pages/Your-toddlers-declaration-of-independence.aspx

For articles with no author:

Article title [Internet]. Toronto: The Hospital for Sick Children; copyright [updated date; citation date]. Available from: URL

Asthma warning signs [Internet]. Toronto: The Hospital for Sick Children; 2004-2024 [updated 2009 Jan 29; cited 2012 July 10]. Available from: http://www.aboutkidshealth.ca/En/Resource0entres/Asthma/ControllingYourChildsAsthma/Pages/Asthma-Warning-Signs.aspx

Express Permission

For proposed uses of the Information that are not listed here, please fill out and submit the request form available here: Reuse Permission Form

Return to top

6. Illustrated Image Use Policy

AboutKidsHealth encourages the dissemination of information about our illustration collection ("Images") and expertise, through, for example, teaching, web resources and printed materials. However, all the Materials on this Site are protected by internationally recognized intellectual property laws, including copyright. The use of Images and visual materials (including interactive animations) that we email to you is conditional upon our General Terms of Use as limited by the following Terms:

You should be an individual or a charity, a society, an institution or a trust existing exclusively for public benefit
You may use Images for private purposes in education, teaching, academic study and research
You may publish the Images in a book, article, thesis or booklet, provided that the publication is non-commercial in purpose, and of an educational, scholarly or academic nature
You may make "one-time" use only
Reproduction sizes for images must not exceed 5" x 7"
No copyright or proprietary right is conveyed with the use of any image supplied by AboutKidsHealth
Images may not be passed on for third-party use
Images may not be cropped or changed or manipulated in any way (including written on or labeled, text on images may not be translated) without written permission from AboutKidsHealth
Images may not be used in any way which could be considered to be deceptive or which could reflect unfavourably upon the good name or reputation of AboutKidsHealth

Should your intended purpose of use fall outside of the above Terms (e.g. Image modification requests, publishing in high res), please contact AboutKidsHealth by filing out and submitting the Permission Request Form.

In the event of any identified breach of our General Terms of Use, AboutKidsHealth reserves all rights to take any appropriate action to restrain further use of the Images and/or to seek financial compensation or damages.

Return to top

7. Social Community Rules

SickKids encourages conversation and sharing on its social media channels, including but not limited to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Flickr, YouTube, Pinterest and blogs.

However, we make reasonable efforts to monitor all posted material to ensure it is on topic, respectful and non-commercial. Nothing on the sites should be deemed as medical advice. Our administrators reserve the right to remove any post deemed inappropriate or offensive, without notice. Please understand that comments posted to this Page do not represent the opinions of AboutKidsHealth.ca, its employees or affiliates.

Please be aware that what is posted online can remain online for many years to come. We encourage you to exercise caution when speaking about your medical condition or your child's medical condition. Please do not disclose personal information such as medical records, your location, financial information, etc.

We look forward to reading your comments, stories and links, and viewing your photos and videos. Thank you for joining the conversation.

TERMS

The views and opinions expressed on the AboutKidsHealth.ca social media pages reflect the thoughts of the online community members and not necessarily those of AboutKidsHealth.ca (AKH), The Hospital for Sick Children, any of its corporate affiliates or staff. We do not control the submitted content posted on the social media channels and as such, do not guarantee the accuracy, integrity or quality of such content.

You agree to not submit any content that:

is offensive as determined by AKH, in our discretion, including, without limitation, content that promotes racism, bigotry, hatred or physical harm of any kind against any group or individual;
does not endorse any opinions expressed on this fan page;
could be harmful to minors;
harasses or advocates harassment of another person;
involves the transmission of "junk mail", "chain letters", or unsolicited mass mailing or "spamming";
promotes information that is false, misleading, illegal or promotes illegal activities or conduct that is abusive, threatening, obscene, defamatory or libellous;
infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights of any party including, without limitation, promoting an illegal or unauthorized copy of another person's copyrighted work, such as providing pirated computer programs or links to them, providing information to circumvent manufacture-installed copy-protect devices, or providing pirated music or links to pirated music files;
contains restricted or password only access pages, or hidden pages or images (those not linked to or from another accessible page);
displays pornographic or sexually explicit material of any kind;
provides material that exploits people under the age of 18 in a sexual or violent manner, or solicits personal information from anyone under the age of 18;
provides instructional information about illegal activities such as making or buying illegal weapons, violating someone's privacy, or providing or creating computer viruses;
solicits passwords or personal identifying information for commercial or unlawful purposes from other users;
you do not have a right to transmit under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships (such as inside information, proprietary and confidential information );
engages in commercial activities and/or sales, such as contests, sweepstakes, barter, advertising, and pyramid schemes, without our prior written consent; and
contains or will contain any disabling mechanism or protection feature designed to prevent its use, including any clock, timer, counter, computer virus, worm, software lock, drop dead device, Trojan horse routine, trap door, time bomb or any other codes, designs, routines or instructions that may be used to access, modify, replicate, distort, delete damage or disable the Content, any Services or this Site and any world wide web pages or any operating system software or hardware on which such Content, Service or Site is operated or displayed except as specifically designed into the Content.

We shall have the right to remove any submitted content that violates these Terms or is otherwise objectionable, in AboutKidsHealth's discretion. The SickKids social community media channels are subject to AboutKidsHealths’ terms of use.

Return to top