Terms of Use

PLEASE READ THIS VERY CAREFULLY BEFORE READING, COMMENTING ON, DOWNLOADING, COPYING, REPRODUCING, ALTERING MATERIALS OF ANY KIND, SUBSCRIBING TO, AND LINKING TO (COLLECTIVELY “USING”) THIS BLOG. USING THIS BLOG INDICATES THAT YOU ACCEPT THESE TERMS OF USE. IF YOU DO NOT ACCEPT THESE TERMS OF USE, PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS BLOG.

Introduction

This agreement (”Agreement“) between You and Science-Based Therapy (”the Author“) consists of Science-Based Therapy’s Blog (the “the Blog“) Terms of Use (”Terms“). “You“, “Reader” or “Commenter” means any entity identified by its comments, e-mail, registration information, or IP address. If You use this Blog on behalf of your employer, organization, or company, they shall also be bound by the terms of this Agreement.

Scope and Audience

This Blog is intended for health care professionals in the therapeutic and rehabilitative health fields, primarily Occupational Therapy (OT), and those who make use of such services. OTs follow a nationally-instituted Code of Ethics and provincial professional regulations.

Topics will include general science-based research in rehabilitation, critical analysis of therapeutic treatments, and other topics. Some topics will have a wider scope, such as patient care, client-centeredness, client/therapist relationships, the health care system, etc.

It is not within the scope of this Blog to provide medical or therapeutic advice. This Blog is meant for information and discussion purposes only.

Posts will be referenced with objective resources whenever possible/relevant, but note that this is blog is a “living document” and information is subject to change as new evidence becomes available. A blog is not a permanent source of information and what you read on the site may not be correct, relevant, or valid today.

Qualifications

While contributors may be health professionals or recent graduates of health education/training programs, no individual or personal health advice is offered, implied, or inferred. Nor will specific medical inquiries be answered, whether posted publicly or sent by email. If you have any personal health questions, ask a legitimate health professional like your family doctor.

Commenting

The Author is not responsible for the content of any comments made by the Commenter(s). Comments are the sole opinion of those who wrote them and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Authors.

The Author reserves the right to block Commenter(s) and remove comments that violate these terms. This Blog is a venue for discussion; therefore, the Author will not delete critical comments, or comments portraying a different opinion from the Author’s own. However, the Author reserves the right to edit, delete, or not publish a comment if this is deemed to be potentially illegal (this includes, but it is not limited to comments containing hateful, libelous, and defamatory content).

Some guidelines to follow while commenting:

1. Respect the Authors and other Commenters. Constructive criticisms and/or corrections to factual errors are welcome.
2. Links to websites selling medical products will be deleted.
3. For the protection of your own privacy, please do not provide any specific identifying details in the comments. Though for transparency, Commenters should state any potential or actual conflicts of interest.
4. The Author is also not responsible for knowing whether the content of Your comment is breaking the law in other countries or jurisdictions. Please do not endanger Yourself or break the law when you comment.
5. All comments on this Blog have to be written in English or French – comments in other languages cannot be verified for content.

Disclaimer

The views expressed on this Blog are the sole responsibility of the Authors and are not necessarily representative of current or former associated employers, academic institutions, or regulatory bodies. The information on this Blog should not be used as a replacement for professional medical advice from your regular health care team. If the Reader freely chooses to follow the opinion of an Author (who has not done a proper history or physical examination and whose credentials cannot be verified) over that of his or her own personal health care team, it is the Reader’s decision alone, for which the Reader must bear full responsibility.

No research board has approved any of these postings. No-one but the specific Author has approved what’s posted. The content of this Blog is not intended to cause harm, but if You have any concerns about the contents of this Blog, please contact the Author. Disagreeing with the content of the Blog does not constitute sufficient ground for You to ask the Author to remove or modify any parts of this Blog.

The information on this Blog is intended for discussion and entertainment purposes only and not as recommendations about how to diagnose or treat health conditions. Contents are not intended to harm or malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, or any individual. Authors are not liable for any action taken by a person or entity as a result of any information posted.

Do your own research and don’t just believe something you read on the internet. The best source of information about your health is a registered, licensed health professional, preferably one that knows your health history.

Transparency

There is no financial support for the Author and there is no intent by the Author to derive revenue from this website, either directly or indirectly. Sometimes ads and links appear on this blog that are automatically generated by WordPress. The Authors do not necessarily agree with the content of any generated links, nor do we endorse or profit from any commercial products they may sell. The appearance of links promoting any product on this site are not an indication of support. As this Blog sells no product or service, the Authors have no specific claims to justify.

Limitations of Liability

The Author operates the Blog from Nova Scotia, Canada, and makes no representations that materials in the Blog are appropriate or available for use in other locations. Access to the Blog from any location where the content is illegal is prohibited.

Any claim related to the use of the Blog or to the Blog materials shall be governed by the laws of the Province of Nova Scotia. Any action related to the access, use, content, or existence of this Blog shall be filed only in the appropriate court located within Nova Scotia. The use of this Blog constitutes Your express permission and consent to the jurisdiction of the provincial and/or federal courts of the Province of Nova Scotia for purposes of such actions.

IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE UNDER THIS AGREEMENT FOR ANY DAMAGES OR LOSSES, and the author’s liability to You under this Agreement for any claim is limited to the gross monthly amount paid by the author for hosting services during the one month period immediately following the date of the claim. Each party acknowledges that the other party has entered into this Agreement relying on the limitations of liability stated herein and that those limitations are an essential part of the Agreement. Without limiting the foregoing, the Author shall not have any liability for any failure or delay resulting from any condition beyond the reasonable control of the Author, including but not limited to governmental action, labor conditions, power failures, natural and/or man-made disasters. The Author is not liable for the content of any comments the Commenter might leave on this Blog (see Comment policy).

If You are intending to carry out legal action of any kind against the Blog or the Author, you are required to contact the Author FIFTEEN BUSINESS DAYS before any legal claim is made. Please remember that the Author means to DO NO HARM to You or anyone else by writing this Blog. If You feel that your rights have been infringed, please contact the Author, and allow FIFTEEN BUSINESS DAYS for the reply to be received. The Author will do whatever possible to address Your concerns.

Also see recent changes to Canadian Law applicable to bloggers and other journalists regarding libel defense. Applicable sections:

[96] … These new disseminators of news and information should, absent good reasons for exclusion, be subject to the same laws as established media outlets. I agree with Lord Hoffmann that the new defence is “available to anyone who publishes material of public interest in any medium”

[97] A review of recent defamation case law suggests that many actions now concern blog postings and other online media which are potentially both more ephemeral and more ubiquitous than traditional print media. While established journalistic standards provide a useful guide by which to evaluate the conduct of journalists and non-journalists alike, the applicable standards will necessarily evolve to keep pace with the norms of new communications media. For this reason, it is more accurate to refer to the new defence as responsible communication on matters of public interest.

Defensible if:

A. The publication is on a matter of public interest
and:
B. The publisher was diligent in trying to verify the allegation, having regard to:
(a) the seriousness of the allegation;
(b) the public importance of the matter;
(c) the urgency of the matter;
(d) the status and reliability of the source;
(e) whether the plaintiff’s side of the story was sought and accurately reported;
(f) whether the inclusion of the defamatory statement was justifiable;
(g) whether the defamatory statement’s public interest lay in the fact that it was made rather than its truth (“reportage”); and
(h) any other relevant circumstances.

Obligation to Indemnify

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold the Author, its agents, and applicable third parties (collectively “Indemnified Person(s)“) harmless from and against any and all third party claims, liability, loss, and expense (including damage awards, settlement amounts, and reasonable legal fees, brought against any Indemnified Person(s), arising out of, related to or which may arise from Your use of the Blog and/or Your breach of any term of this Agreement. In Québec, this will include judicial and extra-judicial costs and fees; elsewhere in Canada, legal fees on a solicitor and its own client basis.

Warranty

The Author makes no warranty of any kind. If you choose to access the Blog, you do so at your own risk. To the extent links and external content are based on or displayed in connection with the Blog, THE AUTHOR SHALL NOT HAVE ANY LIABILITY IN CONNECTION WITH THE DISPLAY OF SUCH LINKS AND SEARCH RESULTS, whether this external content is breaking the law in this or other jurisdictions.