| Contact | aspr.hhs.gov/behavioral-health |
| Information | Resources and guidance for stress management after disasters from the Administration for Strategic Preparedness & Response (ASPR). |
| Location | International: 🇺🇸 United States |
| Type of resource | Resource hub |
| Type of support | Psychosocial emergency preparedness |
| Target demographic | Health care providers and public safety personnel |
| Serves adults (18+) | Yes |
| Serves children (0–12) | — |
| Serves youth (13–17) | — |
| Serves families | — |
| Language(s) spoken | 🍁 English |
-
Black Dog Institute: National Emergency Worker Support Service
Contact blackdoginstitute.org.au/education-services/national-emergency-worker-support-service/ Information Free mental health check, providing insights and recommendations to support PSP. Location International: 🇦🇺 Australia Type of resource Online service Type of support Wellness support Target demographic Public safety personnel Serves adults (18+) Yes Serves children (0–12) — Serves youth (13–17) — Serves families — Language(s) spoken 🍁 English -
Phoenix Australia: Responder Assist
Contact phoenixaustralia.org/responder-assist Information Mental health information, resources, and training for emergency workers and those who support them. Location International: 🇦🇺 Australia Type of resource Online service Type of support Wellness support Target demographic Public safety personnel and their families Serves adults (18+) Yes Serves children (0–12) — Serves youth (13–17) — Serves families Yes Language(s) spoken 🍁 English -
Australian Psychological Society
Contact psychology.org.au/for-the-public/psychology-topics/disasters Information Information for preparing for disasters and for looking after mental health and well-being after experiencing a natural disaster. Location International: 🇦🇺 Australia Type of resource Online service Type of support Wellness support Target demographic General population Serves adults (18+) Yes Serves children (0–12) — Serves youth (13–17) — Serves families — Language(s) spoken 🍁 English -
Beyond Blue: Natural Disasters
Contact beyondblue.org.au/mental-health/natural-disasters Information Mental health information for those who have experienced a natural disaster. Location International: 🇦🇺 Australia Type of resource Online service Type of support Wellness support Target demographic General population Serves adults (18+) Yes Serves children (0–12) — Serves youth (13–17) — Serves families — Language(s) spoken 🍁 English -
Australian Red Cross
Contact redcross.org.au/emergencies Information Provides tips for coping with a crisis, including looking after yourself and returning home. Location International: 🇦🇺 Australia Type of resource Online service Type of support Wellness support Target demographic General population Serves adults (18+) Yes Serves children (0–12) — Serves youth (13–17) — Serves families — Language(s) spoken 🍁 English -
Responses to trauma
What is psychological trauma?
Psychological trauma refers to lasting emotional impacts of living through or learning about a distressing event. These events, known as traumatic events, can be singular (e.g., assault), or repetitive (e.g., abuse), and while some people are more likely to experience a traumatic event, these may happen to anyone, regardless of profession or background.
Importantly, if you are having trouble managing your emotions, reactions, or day-to-day life following traumatic events, please seek support.
Common impacts following a traumatic event include:
Muscle tension Low mood Feeling “out of control” of your actions or emotions Increased irritability or anger Memory difficulties (e.g., gaps, loss) Disinterest in activities you used to enjoy Short term memory challenges (e.g., forgetting where you parked your car) New difficulties controlling negative patterns of thinking (e.g., feeling hopeless) Difficulty with concentration and decision making Increased intensity or frequency of fear responses (e.g., more easily startled) Changes in how you think about yourself, other people or the world around you Recurring thoughts, memories, or dreams about the traumatic event Difficulties with sleep (e.g., falling asleep, staying asleep, waking up in the middle of the night) Withdrawing or disconnection from your surroundings Other impacts of psychological trauma that aren’t talked about as often include:
- Dissociation, which is a way to “numb out” when things get overwhelming, through disconnection from our surroundings, and can occur either through depersonalization or derealization.
- Depersonalization: feeling as though your body does not belong to you, or as though you are “outside” of your body
- Derealization: feeling as though things around you are unreal or strange (e.g., as though you’re in a movie)
Guilt, which are feelings of having done something “bad” or “wrong” following the traumatic event. Often, these feelings may show up as thinking about past events and thinking that you or someone else “could have” or “should have” done something differently. Sometimes people may even feel guilty that they survived an event that another person did not. This is known as survivor guilt, and can lead to feelings of negativity about ourselves, or even thoughts about whether we “deserved” to survive compared to those who lost their lives.
Shame is the feeling that part of me is “wrong” or “broken”, and can be a very challenging emotion to navigate following traumatic events. These events may make us feel like the way we reacted means something bigger about who we are as people, or even as though the traumatic event that happened was someone their fault. Shame is a negative feedback loop that can stop us from wanting to seek help because we may feel like we do not “deserve” to live a stable, healthy life.
Moral injury is a type of stress response that occurs after a morally distressing experience, where we feel that our own deeply held morals have been violated in some way. Symptoms can include psychological, social, behavioural, and spiritual changes that might impact how we see ourselves or other people.
Moral stressors and our associated moral reactions exist on a spectrum. Moral challenges may prompt feelings of moral frustration but do not lead to any lasting impairment, such as worries about “the state of the world.” Moral distress brings up moral emotions and cause short term increases in distress levels. Experiences such as being lied to or stolen from might induce moral distress, but they are unlikely to leave lasting impacts. On the far end of this spectrum are morally injurious events, which cause moral injury.
Vicarious traumatization, also called secondary traumatization, is something that can be especially challenging for individuals who work or volunteer in public safety, military, and healthcare settings, due to their more frequent exposure to victims of traumatic events and violent acts. This can occur when we hear about or witness events that have occurred but do not have direct impacts on us as individuals. The symptoms that occur following vicarious trauma are similar to that of experiencing a traumatic event personally.
Having trouble coping with my behaviours, emotions, or social changes following a traumatic event? This may be a normal reaction to witnessing, experiencing or hearing about traumatic situations that people go through. However, if this is causing you a lot of distress or getting in the way of how you would like to live your life, it may be important to seek support.
Supports can include:
- Peer support
- Talking with family or friends
- Religious or spiritual leaders
- Mental health professionals
Self-driven activities that may help reduce distress include:
- Identifying people, places or situations that trigger your stress responses in order to increase your awareness and cope ahead
- Labeling your emotions as you notice them rather than avoiding them
- Boxed breathing
- Progressive muscle relaxation
- Setting boundaries with other people and with yourself
-
Glossary
Adapted from the Canadian Institute of Public Safety and Training’s (CIPSRT) Glossary of Terms 3.0
Citation: Heber A, Testa V, Groll D, Ritchie K, Tam-Seto L, Mulligan A, Sullo E, Schick A, Bose E, Jabbari Y, Lopes J, Carleton RN. Glossary of terms: A shared understanding of the common terms used to describe psychological trauma, version 3.0. Health Promot Chronic Dis Prev Can. 2023;43(10/11). doi.org/10.24095/hpcdp.43.10/11.09
Please see also CIPSRT’s list of frequently asked questions about mental health.
Acute stress disorder (ASD)
- A collection of feelings, behaviours, and experiences that can occur in the first month after a person is exposed to a potentially psychologically traumatic event (e.g. actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence). The exposure can occur in many ways. For more information about exposures that may lead to ASD, see potentially psychologically traumatic event (PPTE).
Clinical anxiety
- Describes anxiety symptoms severe enough to require formal medical or mental health treatment.
- Symptoms can include intense worry, nervousness, restlessness, rapid heart rate, muscle tension, irritability, trouble concentrating, and feelings of worry or dread, or physical changes such as increased blood pressure.
Clinical depression
- Describes symptoms of a major depressive episode that requires formal medical treatment.
- A major depressive episode typically lasts for a period of several weeks. Symptoms include feeling sad or numb, low mood, lack of interest in usual activities or relationships, difficulty concentrating, poor sleep, feelings of hopelessness, and sometimes, suicidal thoughts.
Complex posttraumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD)
- A type of posttraumatic stress disorder that results from experiencing repeated, severe psychologically traumatic events.
- People with C-PTSD have a profound loss or absence of a sense of identity and difficulty controlling their emotions. They are often involved in unstable relationships as adults, and often have patterns of impulsive choices, feelings of emotional instability, and behavioural problems. Sometimes they experience chronic unhappiness, suicidal thoughts, and suicide attempts.
Complex trauma
- A psychological injury that results from severe types of potentially psychologically traumatic events (PPTEs).
- Often used to refer to complex posttraumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD).
Counselling
- A form of talk therapy where a counsellor sits down with a client to help them work through their issues in a safe, confidential environment. Counselling can take many forms, ranging from in-person to online to telephone sessions.
Crisis
- An overwhelming event, which can include divorce, violence, the passing of a loved one, the discovery of a serious illness, or a major disaster. Can be used interchangeably with critical incident or potentially psychologically traumatic event (PPTE).
Crisis support
- A short-term management technique designed to reduce potential permanent damage to an individual affected by a crisis.
Critical incident
- Describes a potentially psychologically traumatic event (PPTE) that evokes unusually strong emotional reactions. Can be used interchangeably with crisis or potentially psychologically traumatic event (PPTE).
Gender-based violence
- Refers to any type of harmful behaviour against a person or group of people because of their sex, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
Intersectionality
- Recognizes the multiple aspects of an individual’s identity that influence their experiences. Identity factors include ethnicity, religion, age, physical and cognitive ability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status.
Interpersonal violence
- The harmful physical and psychological behaviour by a person or group of people toward another person. It is a type of potentially psychologically traumatic event (PPTE) and can contribute to mental health conditions in either the person causing the harm or the person who is harmed.
Mental health
- Mental refers to thoughts, feelings, emotions, and related brain functioning.
- Mental health exists on a continuum from poor to good. In good mental health, a person:
- understands themselves and their abilities
- copes well with normal stress
- experiences good feelings from their interactions and relationships with others
- is able to work or function well in their usual activities, and
- contributes to their family and/or community.
Mental health injury/psychological injury
- May be used as different names for a mental health condition, including a mental disorder, especially when the condition is caused by exposure to one or more potentially psychologically traumatic events.
- The word “injury” is used when describing mental disorders or conditions to try to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness.
Mental illness
- Refers to emotions, behaviours, and difficulties in thinking that affect a person’s ability to clearly understand the real world and what is happening to them and around them. These emotions, behaviours, and difficulties are generally the signs and symptoms of the mental illness. The signs and symptoms of a mental illness can range from mild to severe.
- Mental illness is often accompanied by distress and decreased functioning in social, occupational, or other activities of daily life.
Moral injury/moral distress
- During potentially psychologically traumatic events (PPTEs) or other unusually stressful situations, people may carry out, witness, or fail to prevent events that go against their moral beliefs and expectations.
- A moral injury can occur in response to doing something or witnessing behaviours or acts that go against a person’s values and moral beliefs. Events that cause moral injury can be:
- acts of commission (what someone has done)acts of omission (what someone has failed to do), or
- acts of betrayal.
Peer support
- A supportive, recovery-oriented relationship between individuals who have had or have the same experience, that is, they have a shared lived or living experience. It can offer social, emotional, spiritual, and instrumental support to promote a person’s well-being and path to recovery from mental health problems.
- Peer support can be delivered one-to-one or by a group, and some peer support is a combination of both.
Posttraumatic growth (PTG)
- The positive personal changes that may result from a person’s struggle to manage the consequences of being exposed to one or more potentially psychologically traumatic events. PTG can include a new appreciation for life and future possibilities, a newfound sense of personal strength, improved relationships with others (e.g. a new focus on helping others), and spiritual or existential change.
Posttraumatic stress (PTS)
- Refers to stress resulting from exposure to one or more potentially psychologically traumatic events (PPTEs).
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- The collection of feelings, behaviours, and experiences that can occur after a person is exposed to a potentially psychologically traumatic event (PPTE). The exposure can occur in many ways. For details of exposures that may be associated with a PTSD diagnosis, see potentially psychologically traumatic event (PPTE).
- PTSD reactions can include:
- immediate feelings of terror, panic, anxiety, rage, or sickness when exposed to a sound, sight, or smell that is a reminder of the event
- vivid and intrusive memories of the event, which can sometimes feel as if the event is happening again (“flashbacks”)
- nightmares and disturbed sleep
- not remembering the event (amnesia), or feeling emotionally numb
- avoiding places, people, or circumstances that are reminders of the event
- being hyperalert to threat or danger, and
- feeling that things are unreal or that you are living in a dream (depersonalization or derealization).
Potentially psychologically traumatic event (PPTE)
- A stressful event that has caused psychological trauma and has the potential to cause PTSD and other trauma-related mental health conditions. This term is more precise than terms like critical incident or crisis.
- Typical examples of potentially psychologically traumatic events (PPTE) include:
- adverse childhood experiences
- motor vehicle accidents
- sexual assault and other types of violence
- unexpected violent or accidental death of a loved one or threatened death of a loved one, and
- threat of or actual severe physical injury, experiencing military combat, natural disasters, or exposure to human remains.
Psychological first aid (PFA)
- An immediate way to help people after a disaster or traumatic event. PFA aims to provide support to reduce initial distress and promote resilience. By addressing basic needs such as safety, comfort, and emotional connection, PFA helps reduce the risk of long-term mental/emotional harm.
Recovery
- The personalized journey to a way of living that allows a person with a physical or mental health condition to have positive mental health and good well-being.
Resilience
- The long-term physical and mental determination that people draw on to deal with ongoing adversity. It is a quality that an individual may naturally possess or develop through work and life experiences.
Secondary traumatic stress
- Describes a mental health condition that results from indirect exposure to one or more potentially psychologically traumatic events (PPTEs). Such indirect exposure is also known as vicarious trauma.
Stigma
- A set of highly negative ideas and beliefs that society has about something. To be stigmatized means to be symbolically marked as a disgrace. Mental illnesses are among the most highly stigmatized conditions in society. When a health condition is stigmatized, the person experiences not only the symptoms of the condition itself, but also the social rejection, disapproval, and the shame that the stigmatization creates.
- There are four types of mental health stigma:
- Structural stigma is when organizational policies and practices are unfair to people with mental disorders.
- Public or interpersonal stigma is when the public think or act negatively toward people with a mental disorder.
- Self-stigma occurs when people with a mental disorder believe the negative public views and apply these views to themselves.
- Stigma-by-association is when those close to or related to the stigmatized group (such as family, friends, or mental health providers) are also stigmatized.
Trauma
- Something that causes physical, emotional, spiritual, or psychological harm.
- A person’s experience during an event that is so distressing to them that it overwhelms them emotionally; psychological trauma can be the cause of mental disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder.
Vicarious trauma
- Refers to psychological trauma that can occur in people who are indirectly exposed to a potentially psychologically traumatic event (PPTE). Also known as secondary traumatic stress.
Well-being
- Can be defined using a broad framework that includes seven interacting domains:
- employment or meaningful purpose
- financial security
- health
- life skills and preparedness
- social integration
- housing and physical environment, and
- cultural and social environment.
Wellness
- There is no consensus on a definition, but some definitions of wellness overlap with definitions of well-being.
- Defined by the First Nations Mental Wellness Continuum Framework (FNMWCF) as a balance of the mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional. In this framework, mental wellness is enriched when a person has purpose, hope for their future, a sense of belonging, and a sense of meaning.
Wellness support
- Health services, programs, or activities that focus on the promotion or maintenance of good health. These supports are designed to improve well-being while reducing pain, stress, and anxiety.
-
Moral injury & posttraumatic stress
What is moral injury?
Moral injury is the potential outcome of witnessing an event that goes against ones moral beliefs, or participating in the act oneself. Moral injury can also be caused by feeling betrayed by someone you trusted, like a coworker, supervisor, or workplace.
It often results in intense feelings of guilt, shame, disgust, and anger.
What is posttraumatic stress?
Posttraumatic stress (PTS) is a response to traumatic events that one has personally experienced, has learned about happening to a loved one, or has been exposed to. This could include actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence.
PTS symptoms can include:
- Reliving the event repeatedly in your mind
- Having nightmares
- Avoiding family and friends
- Having trouble sleeping
- Losing interest in enjoyable activities
- Avoiding places and people that remind you of the event
Some people with PTS also experience dissociation. This means that they feel disconnected from themselves, or feel like things happening around them are unreal or unfamiliar.
Though most people who experience a traumatic event will have a strong reaction, many will recover over time. Experiencing trauma doesn’t mean you will develop PTS.
-
What can I do to take care of myself?
Coping strategies can help you manage stress and assist with healing. It can be hard to find the energy to engage in them, so having a few go-to tools can be very helpful. Here are some you can begin to use right away:
- Set and keep routines that help with work-life balance. Focus on a healthy diet, enough sleep, exercise, and time with friends and family.
- Set small goals for yourself. These will give you a sense of accomplishment, and signal that you are taking care of yourself.
- Practice deep breathing. Inhale for four counts, exhale for four counts, practice for four minutes. Deep breathing sends oxygen to the brain and helps relax the body.
- Positive self-talk. Redirect negative thoughts by reframing them.
- Visualization. Pay attention to all senses and visualize positive images. For example, imagine the sounds, smells, and sights of a calming scene.
- Self-care. Go for a walk, engage with your religion/spirituality, journal, read a book, take a nap or bath, listen to music. Do something that feels good!
- Self-compassion. Show yourself the same kindness you would to a friend who is struggling. Find guided self-compassion exercises here.
- Mental Health Continuum Model. The mental health self-assessment tool helps identify your current mental health status and provides relevant resources.
-
9-8-8: Suicide Crisis Helpline
Contact Call or text: 9-8-8
Online: 988.caInformation “You deserve to be heard. We’re here to listen. A safe space to talk, 24 hours a day, every day of the year.” Location National Type of resource Telephone (call or text), online service Type of support Crisis support Target population General population Serves adults (18+) Yes Serves children (0–12) — Serves youth (13–17) — Serves families — Language(s) spoken 🍁 English, ⚜️ French -
Privacy policy (unabridged)
Last updated: July 30, 2024
Link to privacy policy (abridged)
This Privacy Policy describes Our policies and procedures on the collection, use, and disclosure of Your information when You use the Service and tells You about Your privacy rights and how the law protects You.
We use Your Personal data to provide and improve the Service. By using the Service, You agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
Interpretation and Definitions
Interpretation
The words of which the initial letter is capitalized have meanings defined under the following conditions. The following definitions shall have the same meaning regardless of whether they appear in singular or in plural.
Definitions
For the purposes of this Privacy Policy:
- Account means a unique account created for You to access our Service or parts of our Service.
- Affiliate means an entity that controls, is controlled by or is under common control with a party, where “control” means ownership of 50% or more of the shares, equity interest or other securities entitled to vote for election of directors or other managing authority.
- Business, for the purpose of CCPA/CPRA, refers to the Company as the legal entity that collects Consumers’ personal information and determines the purposes and means of the processing of Consumers’ personal information, or on behalf of which such information is collected and that alone, or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of consumers’ personal information, that does business in the State of California.
- CCPA and/or CPRA refers to California Consumer Privacy Act (the “CCPA”) as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 (the “CPRA”).
- Company (referred to as either “the Company”, “We”, “Us” or “Our” in this Agreement) refers to The Trauma & Recovery Research Unit, McMaster University, 100 West 5th Street Hamilton, ON, L9C 0E3, Canada. For the purpose of the GDPR, the Company is the Data Controller.
- Consumer, for the purpose of the CCPA/CPRA, means a natural person who is a California resident. A resident, as defined in the law, includes (1) every individual who is in the USA for other than a temporary or transitory purpose, and (2) every individual who is domiciled in the USA who is outside the USA for a temporary or transitory purpose.
- Cookies are small files that are placed on Your computer, mobile device or any other device by a website, containing the details of Your browsing history on that website among its many uses.
- Country refers to: Ontario, Canada
- Data Controller, for the purposes of the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), refers to the Company as the legal person which alone or jointly with others determines the purposes and means of the processing of Personal Data.
- Device means any device that can access the Service such as a computer, a cellphone or a digital tablet.
- GDPR refers to EU General Data Protection Regulation.
- Personal Data is any information that relates to an identified or identifiable individual.
- For the purposes of GDPR, Personal Data means any information relating to You such as a name, an identification number, location data, online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity.
- For the purposes of the CCPA/CPRA, Personal Data means any information that identifies, relates to, describes or is capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with You.
- Service refers to the Website.
- Service Provider means any natural or legal person who processes the data on behalf of the Company. It refers to third-party companies or individuals employed by the Company to facilitate the Service, to provide the Service on behalf of the Company, to perform services related to the Service or to assist the Company in analyzing how the Service is used. For the purpose of the GDPR, Service Providers are considered Data Processors.
- Usage Data refers to data collected automatically, either generated by the use of the Service or from the Service infrastructure itself (for example, the duration of a page visit).
- Website refers to Canadian Emergency Response Psychosocial Support Network, accessible from canemerg-urgencecan.com
- You means the individual accessing or using the Service, or the company, or other legal entity on behalf of which such individual is accessing or using the Service, as applicable. Under GDPR, You can be referred to as the Data Subject or as the User as you are the individual using the Service.
Collecting and Using Your Personal Data
Types of Data Collected
Personal Data
While using Our Service, We may ask You to provide Us with certain personally identifiable information that can be used to contact or identify You. Personally identifiable information may include, but is not limited to:
- Usage Data
Usage Data
Usage Data is collected automatically when using the Service.
Usage Data may include information such as Your Device’s Internet Protocol address (e.g. IP address), browser type, browser version, the pages of our Service that You visit, the time and date of Your visit, the time spent on those pages, unique device identifiers and other diagnostic data.
When You access the Service by or through a mobile device, We may collect certain information automatically, including, but not limited to, the type of mobile device You use, Your mobile device unique ID, the IP address of Your mobile device, Your mobile operating system, the type of mobile Internet browser You use, unique device identifiers and other diagnostic data.
We may also collect information that Your browser sends whenever You visit our Service or when You access the Service by or through a mobile device.
Tracking Technologies and Cookies
We use Cookies and similar tracking technologies to track the activity on Our Service and store certain information. Tracking technologies used are beacons, tags, and scripts to collect and track information and to improve and analyze Our Service. The technologies We use may include:
- Cookies or Browser Cookies. A cookie is a small file placed on Your Device. You can instruct Your browser to refuse all Cookies or to indicate when a Cookie is being sent. However, if You do not accept Cookies, You may not be able to use some parts of our Service. Unless you have adjusted Your browser setting so that it will refuse Cookies, our Service may use Cookies.
- Web Beacons. Certain sections of our Service and our emails may contain small electronic files known as web beacons (also referred to as clear gifs, pixel tags, and single-pixel gifs) that permit the Company, for example, to count users who have visited those pages or opened an email and for other related website statistics (for example, recording the popularity of a certain section and verifying system and server integrity).
Cookies can be “Persistent” or “Session” Cookies. Persistent Cookies remain on Your personal computer or mobile device when You go offline, while Session Cookies are deleted as soon as You close Your web browser. You can learn more about cookies on TermsFeed website article.
We use both Session and Persistent Cookies for the purposes set out below:
- Necessary / Essential Cookies
- Type: Session Cookies
- Administered by: Us
- Purpose: These Cookies are essential to provide You with services available through the Website and to enable You to use some of its features. They help to authenticate users and prevent fraudulent use of user accounts. Without these Cookies, the services that You have asked for cannot be provided, and We only use these Cookies to provide You with those services.
- Cookies Policy / Notice Acceptance Cookies
- Type: Persistent Cookies
- Administered by: Us
- Purpose: These Cookies identify if users have accepted the use of cookies on the Website.
- Functionality Cookies
- Type: Persistent Cookies
- Administered by: Us
- Purpose: These Cookies allow us to remember choices You make when You use the Website, such as remembering your login details or language preference. The purpose of these Cookies is to provide You with a more personal experience and to avoid You having to re-enter your preferences every time You use the Website.
- Tracking and Performance Cookies
- Type: Persistent Cookies
- Administered by: Third-Parties
- Purpose: These Cookies are used to track information about traffic to the Website and how users use the Website. The information gathered via these Cookies may directly or indirectly identify you as an individual visitor. This is because the information collected is typically linked to a pseudonymous identifier associated with the device you use to access the Website. We may also use these Cookies to test new pages, features or new functionality of the Website to see how our users react to them.
For more information about the cookies we use and your choices regarding cookies, please visit our Cookies Policy or the Cookies section of our Privacy Policy.
Use of Your Personal Data
The Company may use Personal Data for the following purposes:
- To provide and maintain our Service, including to monitor the usage of our Service.
- To manage Your Account: to manage Your registration as a user of the Service. The Personal Data You provide can give You access to different functionalities of the Service that are available to You as a registered user.
- For the performance of a contract: the development, compliance and undertaking of the purchase contract for the products, items or services You have purchased or of any other contract with Us through the Service.
- To contact You: To contact You by email, telephone calls, SMS, or other equivalent forms of electronic communication, such as a mobile application’s push notifications regarding updates or informative communications related to the functionalities, products or contracted services, including the security updates, when necessary or reasonable for their implementation.
- To provide You with news, special offers and general information about other goods, services and events which we offer that are similar to those that you have already purchased or enquired about unless You have opted not to receive such information.
- To manage Your requests: To attend and manage Your requests to Us.
- For business transfers: We may use Your information to evaluate or conduct a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of Our assets, whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation, or similar proceeding, in which Personal Data held by Us about our Service users is among the assets transferred.
- For other purposes: We may use Your information for other purposes, such as data analysis, identifying usage trends, determining the effectiveness of our promotional campaigns and to evaluate and improve our Service, products, services, marketing and your experience.
We may share Your personal information in the following situations:
- With Service Providers: We may share Your personal information with Service Providers to monitor and analyze the use of our Service, to contact You.
- For business transfers: We may share or transfer Your personal information in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of Company assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of Our business to another company.
- With Affiliates: We may share Your information with Our affiliates, in which case we will require those affiliates to honor this Privacy Policy. Affiliates include Our parent company and any other subsidiaries, joint venture partners or other companies that We control or that are under common control with Us.
- With business partners: We may share Your information with Our business partners to offer You certain products, services or promotions.
- With other users: when You share personal information or otherwise interact in the public areas with other users, such information may be viewed by all users and may be publicly distributed outside.
- With Your consent: We may disclose Your personal information for any other purpose with Your consent.
Retention of Your Personal Data
The Company will retain Your Personal Data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy. We will retain and use Your Personal Data to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations (for example, if we are required to retain your data to comply with applicable laws), resolve disputes, and enforce our legal agreements and policies.
The Company will also retain Usage Data for internal analysis purposes. Usage Data is generally retained for a shorter period of time, except when this data is used to strengthen the security or to improve the functionality of Our Service, or We are legally obligated to retain this data for longer time periods.
Transfer of Your Personal Data
Your information, including Personal Data, is processed at the Company’s operating offices and in any other places where the parties involved in the processing are located. It means that this information may be transferred to — and maintained on — computers located outside of Your state, province, country or other governmental jurisdiction where the data protection laws may differ than those from Your jurisdiction.
Your consent to this Privacy Policy followed by Your submission of such information represents Your agreement to that transfer.
The Company will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that Your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy and no transfer of Your Personal Data will take place to an organization or a country unless there are adequate controls in place including the security of Your data and other personal information.
Delete Your Personal Data
You have the right to delete or request that We assist in deleting the Personal Data that We have collected about You.
Our Service may give You the ability to delete certain information about You from within the Service.
You may update, amend, or delete Your information at any time by signing in to Your Account, if you have one, and visiting the account settings section that allows you to manage Your personal information. You may also contact Us to request access to, correct, or delete any personal information that You have provided to Us.
Please note, however, that We may need to retain certain information when we have a legal obligation or lawful basis to do so.
Disclosure of Your Personal Data
Business Transactions
If the Company is involved in a merger, acquisition or asset sale, Your Personal Data may be transferred. We will provide notice before Your Personal Data is transferred and becomes subject to a different Privacy Policy.
Law enforcement
Under certain circumstances, the Company may be required to disclose Your Personal Data if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities (e.g. a court or a government agency).
Other legal requirements
The Company may disclose Your Personal Data in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to:
- Comply with a legal obligation
- Protect and defend the rights or property of the Company
- Prevent or investigate possible wrongdoing in connection with the Service
- Protect the personal safety of Users of the Service or the public
- Protect against legal liability
Security of Your Personal Data
The security of Your Personal Data is important to Us, but remember that no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While We strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect Your Personal Data, We cannot guarantee its absolute security.
Detailed Information on the Processing of Your Personal Data
The Service Providers We use may have access to Your Personal Data. These third-party vendors collect, store, use, process and transfer information about Your activity on Our Service in accordance with their Privacy Policies.
Analytics
We may use third-party Service providers to monitor and analyze the use of our Service.
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a web analytics service offered by Google that tracks and reports website traffic. Google uses the data collected to track and monitor the use of our Service. This data is shared with other Google services. Google may use the collected data to contextualize and personalize the ads of its own advertising network.
You can opt-out of having made your activity on the Service available to Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on. The add-on prevents the Google Analytics JavaScript (ga.js, analytics.js and dc.js) from sharing information with Google Analytics about visits activity.
For more information on the privacy practices of Google, please visit the Google Privacy & Terms web page: policies.google.com/privacy
Email Marketing
We may use Your Personal Data to contact You with newsletters, marketing or promotional materials and other information that may be of interest to You. You may opt-out of receiving any, or all, of these communications from Us by following the unsubscribe link or instructions provided in any email We send or by contacting Us.
We may use Email Marketing Service Providers to manage and send emails to You.
Mailchimp
Mailchimp is an email marketing sending service provided by The Rocket Science Group LLC.
For more information on the privacy practices of Mailchimp, please visit their Privacy policy: mailchimp.com/legal/privacy
Usage, Performance, and Miscellaneous
We may use third-party Service Providers to provide better improvement of our Service.
LearnDash
Their Privacy Policy can be viewed at learndash.com/privacy-policy
Polylang Pro
Their Privacy Policy can be viewed at polylang.pro/privacy-policy
Site Kit
Their Privacy Policy can be viewed at policies.google.com/terms
GDPR Privacy
Legal Basis for Processing Personal Data under GDPR
We may process Personal Data under the following conditions:
- Consent: You have given Your consent for processing Personal Data for one or more specific purposes.
- Performance of a contract: Provision of Personal Data is necessary for the performance of an agreement with You and/or for any pre-contractual obligations thereof.
- Legal obligations: Processing Personal Data is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the Company is subject.
- Vital interests: Processing Personal Data is necessary in order to protect Your vital interests or of another natural person.
- Public interests: Processing Personal Data is related to a task that is carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the Company.
- Legitimate interests: Processing Personal Data is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the Company.
In any case, the Company will gladly help to clarify the specific legal basis that applies to the processing, and in particular whether the provision of Personal Data is a statutory or contractual requirement, or a requirement necessary to enter into a contract.
Your Rights under the GDPR
The Company undertakes to respect the confidentiality of Your Personal Data and to guarantee You can exercise Your rights.
You have the right under this Privacy Policy, and by law if You are within the EU, to:
- Request access to Your Personal Data. The right to access, update or delete the information We have on You. Whenever made possible, you can access, update or request deletion of Your Personal Data directly within Your account settings section. If you are unable to perform these actions yourself, please contact Us to assist You. This also enables You to receive a copy of the Personal Data We hold about You.
- Request correction of the Personal Data that We hold about You. You have the right to have any incomplete or inaccurate information We hold about You corrected.
- Object to processing of Your Personal Data. This right exists where We are relying on a legitimate interest as the legal basis for Our processing and there is something about Your particular situation, which makes You want to object to our processing of Your Personal Data on this ground. You also have the right to object where We are processing Your Personal Data for direct marketing purposes.
- Request erasure of Your Personal Data. You have the right to ask Us to delete or remove Personal Data when there is no good reason for Us to continue processing it.
- Request the transfer of Your Personal Data. We will provide to You, or to a third-party You have chosen, Your Personal Data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format. Please note that this right only applies to automated information which You initially provided consent for Us to use or where We used the information to perform a contract with You.
- Withdraw Your consent. You have the right to withdraw Your consent on using your Personal Data. If You withdraw Your consent, We may not be able to provide You with access to certain specific functionalities of the Service.
Exercising of Your GDPR Data Protection Rights
You may exercise Your rights of access, rectification, cancellation and opposition by contacting Us. Please note that we may ask You to verify Your identity before responding to such requests. If You make a request, We will try our best to respond to You as soon as possible.
You have the right to complain to a Data Protection Authority about Our collection and use of Your Personal Data. For more information, if You are in the European Economic Area (EEA), please contact Your local data protection authority in the EEA.
CCPA/CPRA Privacy Notice
This privacy notice section for California residents supplements the information contained in Our Privacy Policy and it applies solely to all visitors, users, and others who reside in the State of California.
Categories of Personal Information Collected
We collect information that identifies, relates to, describes, references, is capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular Consumer or Device. The following is a list of categories of personal information which we may collect or may have been collected from California residents within the last twelve (12) months.
Please note that the categories and examples provided in the list below are those defined in the CCPA/CPRA. This does not mean that all examples of that category of personal information were in fact collected by Us, but reflects our good faith belief to the best of Our knowledge that some of that information from the applicable category may be and may have been collected. For example, certain categories of personal information would only be collected if You provided such personal information directly to Us.
Category A: Identifiers.
- Examples: A real name, alias, postal address, unique personal identifier, online identifier, Internet Protocol address, email address, account name, driver’s license number, passport number, or other similar identifiers.
- Collected: Yes.
Category B: Personal information categories listed in the California Customer Records statute (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.80(e)).
- Examples: A name, signature, Social Security number, physical characteristics or description, address, telephone number, passport number, driver’s license or state identification card number, insurance policy number, education, employment, employment history, bank account number, credit card number, debit card number, or any other financial information, medical information, or health insurance information. Some personal information included in this category may overlap with other categories.
- Collected: Yes.
Category C: Protected classification characteristics under California or federal law.
- Examples: Age (40 years or older), race, colour, ancestry, national origin, citizenship, religion or creed, marital status, medical condition, physical or mental disability, sex (including gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy or childbirth and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, veteran or military status, genetic information (including familial genetic information).
- Collected: No.
Category D: Commercial information.
- Examples: Records and history of products or services purchased or considered.
- Collected: No.
Category E: Biometric information.
- Examples: Genetic, physiological, behavioural, and biological characteristics, or activity patterns used to extract a template or other identifier or identifying information, such as, fingerprints, faceprints, and voiceprints, iris or retina scans, keystroke, gait, or other physical patterns, and sleep, health, or exercise data.
- Collected: No.
Category F: Internet or other similar network activity.
- Examples: Interaction with our Service or advertisement.
- Collected: Yes.
Category G: Geolocation data.
- Examples: Approximate physical location.
- Collected: No.
Category H: Sensory data.
- Examples: Audio, electronic, visual, thermal, olfactory, or similar information.
- Collected: No.
Category I: Professional or employment-related information.
- Examples: Current or past job history or performance evaluations.
- Collected: No.
Category J: Non-public education information (per the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g, 34 C.F.R. Part 99)).
- Examples: Education records directly related to a student maintained by an educational institution or party acting on its behalf, such as grades, transcripts, class lists, student schedules, student identification codes, student financial information, or student disciplinary records.
- Collected: No.
Category K: Inferences drawn from other personal information.
- Examples: Profile reflecting a person’s preferences, characteristics, psychological trends, predispositions, behaviour, attitudes, intelligence, abilities, and aptitudes.
- Collected: No.
Category L: Sensitive personal information.
- Examples: Account login and password information, geolocation data.
- Collected: Yes.
Under CCPA/CPRA, personal information does not include:
- Publicly available information from government records
- Deidentified or aggregated consumer information
- Information excluded from the CCPA/CPRA’s scope, such as:
- Health or medical information covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and the California Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CMIA) or clinical trial data
- Personal Information covered by certain sector-specific privacy laws, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FRCA), the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) or California Financial Information Privacy Act (FIPA), and the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act of 1994
Sources of Personal Information
We obtain the categories of personal information listed above from the following categories of sources:
- Directly from You. For example, from the forms You complete on our Service, preferences You express or provide through our Service.
- Indirectly from You. For example, from observing Your activity on our Service.
- Automatically from You. For example, through cookies We or our Service Providers set on Your Device as You navigate through our Service.
- From Service Providers. For example, third-party vendors to monitor and analyze the use of our Service, or other third-party vendors that We use to provide the Service to You.
Use of Personal Information
We may use or disclose personal information We collect for “business purposes” or “commercial purposes” (as defined under the CCPA/CPRA), which may include the following examples:
- To operate our Service and provide You with Our Service.
- To provide You with support and to respond to Your inquiries, including to investigate and address Your concerns and monitor and improve our Service.
- To fulfill or meet the reason You provided the information. For example, if You share Your contact information to ask a question about our Service, We will use that personal information to respond to Your inquiry.
- To respond to law enforcement requests and as required by applicable law, court order, or governmental regulations.
- As described to You when collecting Your personal information or as otherwise set forth in the CCPA/CPRA.
- For internal administrative and auditing purposes.
- To detect security incidents and protect against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent or illegal activity, including, when necessary, to prosecute those responsible for such activities.
- Other one-time uses.
Please note that the examples provided above are illustrative and not intended to be exhaustive. For more details on how we use this information, please refer to the “Use of Your Personal Data” section.
If We decide to collect additional categories of personal information or use the personal information We collected for materially different, unrelated, or incompatible purposes We will update this Privacy Policy.
Disclosure of Personal Information
We may use or disclose and may have used or disclosed in the last twelve (12) months the following categories of personal information for business or commercial purposes:
- Category A: Identifiers
- Category B: Personal information categories listed in the California Customer Records statute (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.80(e))
- Category F: Internet or other similar network activity
Please note that the categories listed above are those defined in the CCPA/CPRA. This does not mean that all examples of that category of personal information were in fact disclosed, but reflects our good faith belief to the best of our knowledge that some of that information from the applicable category may be and may have been disclosed.
When We disclose personal information for a business purpose or a commercial purpose, We enter a contract that describes the purpose and requires the recipient to both keep that personal information confidential and not use it for any purpose except performing the contract.
Share of Personal Information
We may share, and have shared in the last twelve (12) months, Your personal information identified in the above categories with the following categories of third parties:
- Service Providers
- Our affiliates
- Our business partners
Third party vendors to whom You or Your agents authorize Us to disclose Your personal information in connection with products or services We provide to You
Sale of Personal Information
As defined in the CCPA/CPRA, “sell” and “sale” mean selling, renting, releasing, disclosing, disseminating, making available, transferring, or otherwise communicating orally, in writing, or by electronic or other means, a Consumer’s personal information by the Business to a third party for valuable consideration. This means that We may have received some kind of benefit in return for sharing personal information, but not necessarily a monetary benefit.
We do not sell personal information as the term sell is commonly understood. We do allow Service Providers to use Your personal information for the business purposes described in Our Privacy Policy, for activities such as advertising, marketing, and analytics, and these may be deemed a sale under CCPA/CPRA.
We may sell and may have sold in the last twelve (12) months the following categories of personal information:
- Category A: Identifiers
- Category B: Personal information categories listed in the California Customer Records statute (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.80(e))
- Category F: Internet or other similar network activity
Please note that the categories listed above are those defined in the CCPA/CPRA. This does not mean that all examples of that category of personal information were in fact sold, but reflects our good faith belief to the best of Our knowledge that some of that information from the applicable category may be and may have been shared for value in return.
Sale of Personal Information of Minors Under 16 Years of Age
We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors under the age of 16 through our Service, although certain third party websites that we link to may do so. These third-party websites have their own terms of use and privacy policies and We encourage parents and legal guardians to monitor their children’s Internet usage and instruct their children to never provide information on other websites without their permission.
We do not sell the personal information of Consumers We actually know are less than 16 years of age, unless We receive affirmative authorization (the “right to opt-in”) from either the Consumer who is between 13 and 16 years of age, or the parent or guardian of a Consumer less than 13 years of age. Consumers who opt-in to the sale of personal information may opt-out of future sales at any time. To exercise the right to opt-out, You (or Your authorized representative) may submit a request to Us by contacting Us.
If You have reason to believe that a child under the age of 13 (or 16) has provided Us with personal information, please contact Us with sufficient detail to enable Us to delete that information.
Your Rights under the CCPA/CPRA
The CCPA/CPRA provides California residents with specific rights regarding their personal information. If You are a resident of California, You have the following rights:
- The right to notice. You have the right to be notified which categories of Personal Data are being collected and the purposes for which the Personal Data is being used.
- The right to know/access. Under CCPA/CPRA, You have the right to request that We disclose information to You about Our collection, use, sale, disclosure for business purposes and share of personal information. Once We receive and confirm Your request, We will disclose to You:
- The categories of sources for the personal information We collected about You
- Our business or commercial purposes for collecting or selling that personal information
- The categories of third parties with whom We share that personal information
- The specific pieces of personal information We collected about You
- If we sold Your personal information or disclosed Your personal information for a business purpose, We will disclose to You:
- The categories of personal information categories sold
- The categories of personal information categories disclosed
- The right to say no to the sale or sharing of Personal Data (opt-out). You have the right to direct Us to not sell Your personal information. To submit an opt-out request, please see the “Do Not Sell My Personal Information” section or contact Us.
- The right to correct Personal Data. You have the right to correct or rectify any any inaccurate personal information about You that We collected. Once We receive and confirm Your request, We will use commercially reasonable efforts to correct (and direct our Service Providers to correct) Your personal information, unless an exception applies.
- The right to limit use and disclosure of sensitive Personal Data. You have the right to request to limit the use or disclosure of certain sensitive personal information We collected about You, unless an exception applies. To submit, please see the “Limit the Use or Disclosure of My Sensitive Personal Information” section or contact Us.
- The right to delete Personal Data. You have the right to request the deletion of Your Personal Data under certain circumstances, subject to certain exceptions. Once We receive and confirm Your request, We will delete (and direct Our Service Providers to delete) Your personal information from our records, unless an exception applies. We may deny Your deletion request if retaining the information is necessary for Us or Our Service Providers to:
- Complete the transaction for which We collected the personal information, provide a good or service that You requested, take actions reasonably anticipated within the context of our ongoing business relationship with You, or otherwise perform our contract with You.
- Detect security incidents, protect against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity, or prosecute those responsible for such activities.
- Debug products to identify and repair errors that impair existing intended functionality.
- Exercise free speech, ensure the right of another consumer to exercise their free speech rights, or exercise another right provided for by law.
- Comply with the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act (Cal. Penal Code § 1546 et. seq.).
- Engage in public or peer-reviewed scientific, historical, or statistical research in the public interest that adheres to all other applicable ethics and privacy laws, when the information’s deletion may likely render impossible or seriously impair the research’s achievement, if You previously provided informed consent.
- Enable solely internal uses that are reasonably aligned with consumer expectations based on Your relationship with Us.
- Comply with a legal obligation.
- Make other internal and lawful uses of that information that are compatible with the context in which You provided it.
- The right not to be discriminated against. You have the right not to be discriminated against for exercising any of Your consumer’s rights, including by:
- Denying goods or services to You
- Charging different prices or rates for goods or services, including the use of discounts or other benefits or imposing penalties
- Providing a different level or quality of goods or services to You
- Suggesting that You will receive a different price or rate for goods or services or a different level or quality of goods or services
Exercising Your CCPA/CPRA Data Protection Rights
Please see the “Do Not Sell My Personal Information” section and “Limit the Use or Disclosure of My Sensitive Personal Information” section for more information on how to opt out and limit the use of sensitive information collected.
Additionally, in order to exercise any of Your rights under the CCPA/CPRA, and if You are a California resident, You can contact Us:
- By email: mckinres@mcmaster.ca
Only You, or a person registered with the California Secretary of State that You authorize to act on Your behalf, may make a verifiable request related to Your personal information.
Your request to Us must:
- Provide sufficient information that allows Us to reasonably verify You are the person about whom We collected personal information or an authorized representative
- Describe Your request with sufficient detail that allows Us to properly understand, evaluate, and respond to it
We cannot respond to Your request or provide You with the required information if We cannot:
- Verify Your identity or authority to make the request
- And confirm that the personal information relates to You
We will disclose and deliver the required information free of charge within 45 days of receiving Your verifiable request. The time period to provide the required information may be extended once by an additional 45 days when reasonably necessary and with prior notice.
Any disclosures We provide will only cover the 12-month period preceding the verifiable request’s receipt.
For data portability requests, We will select a format to provide Your personal information that is readily usable and should allow You to transmit the information from one entity to another entity without hindrance.
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
As defined in the CCPA/CPRA, “sell” and “sale” mean selling, renting, releasing, disclosing, disseminating, making available, transferring, or otherwise communicating orally, in writing, or by electronic or other means, a Consumer’s personal information by the Business to a third party for valuable consideration. This means that We may have received some kind of benefit in return for sharing personal information, but not necessarily a monetary benefit.
We do not sell personal information as the term sell is commonly understood. We do allow Service Providers to use Your personal information for the business purposes described in Our Privacy Policy, for activities such as advertising, marketing, and analytics, and these may be deemed a sale under CCPA/CPRA.
You have the right to opt-out of the sale of Your personal information. Once We receive and confirm a verifiable consumer request from You, we will stop selling Your personal information. To exercise Your right to opt-out, please contact Us.
The Service Providers we partner with (for example, our analytics or advertising partners) may use technology on the Service that sells personal information as defined by the CCPA/CPRA law. If you wish to opt out of the use of Your personal information for interest-based advertising purposes and these potential sales as defined under CCPA/CPRA law, you may do so by following the instructions below.
Please note that any opt out is specific to the browser You use. You may need to opt out on every browser that You use.
Website
If applicable, click “Privacy Preferences”, “Update Privacy Preferences” or “Do Not Sell My Personal Information” buttons listed on the Service to review your privacy preferences and opt out of cookies and other technologies that We may use. Please note that You will need to opt out from each browser that You use to access the Service.
Additionally, You can opt out of receiving ads that are personalized as served by our Service Providers by following our instructions presented on the Service:
- The NAI’s opt-out platform: networkadvertising.org/choices
- The EDAA’s opt-out platform: youronlinechoices.com
- The DAA’s opt-out platform: optout.aboutads.info
The opt out will place a cookie on Your computer that is unique to the browser You use to opt out. If you change browsers or delete the cookies saved by your browser, You will need to opt out again.
Mobile Devices
Your mobile device may give You the ability to opt out of the use of information about the apps You use in order to serve You ads that are targeted to Your interests:
- “Opt out of Interest-Based Ads” or “Opt out of Ads Personalization” on Android devices
- “Limit Ad Tracking” on iOS devices
You can also stop the collection of location information from Your mobile device by changing the preferences on Your mobile device.
Limit the Use or Disclosure of My Sensitive Personal Information
If You are a California resident, You have the right to limit the use and disclosure of Your sensitive personal information to that use which is necessary to perform the services or provide the goods reasonably expected by an average Consumer who requests such services or goods.
We collect, use and disclose sensitive personal information in ways that are necessary to provide the Service. For more information on how We use Your personal information, please see the “Use of Your Personal Data” section or contact us.
Children’s Privacy
Our Service does not address anyone under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from anyone under the age of 13. If You are a parent or guardian and You are aware that Your child has provided Us with Personal Data, please contact Us. If We become aware that We have collected Personal Data from anyone under the age of 13 without verification of parental consent, We take steps to remove that information from Our servers.
If We need to rely on consent as a legal basis for processing Your information and Your country requires consent from a parent, We may require Your parent’s consent before We collect and use that information.
Links to Other Websites
Our Service may contain links to other websites that are not operated by Us. If You click on a third party link, You will be directed to that third party’s site. We strongly advise You to review the Privacy Policy of every site You visit.
We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies or practices of any third party sites or services.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
We may update Our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify You of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page.
We will let You know via email and/or a prominent notice on Our Service, prior to the change becoming effective and update the “Last updated” date at the top of this Privacy Policy.
You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, You can contact us:
- By email: mckinres@mcmaster.ca
-
Privacy policy (abridged)
Last updated: July 30, 2024
Link to privacy policy (unabridged)
This Privacy Policy describes our policies and procedures on the collection, use, and disclosure of your information when you use our resources, and tells you about your privacy rights.
We use some data to provide and improve our services. By using the services (this website and the content), you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
Interpretation and definitions
- Business, for the purpose of CCPA/CPRA, refers to the Company as the legal entity that collects Consumers’ personal information and determines the purposes and means of the processing of Consumers’ personal information, or on behalf of which such information is collected and that alone, or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of consumers’ personal information, that does business in the State of California.
- CCPA/CPRA refers to California Consumer Privacy Act (the “CCPA”) as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 (the “CPRA”).
- GDPR refers to EU General Data Protection Regulation.
- Please note: We choose to abide by these laws from California and Europe because they are the most strict. We follow them to ensure that we are handling your information responsibly.
- Company (referred to as either “the Company”, “We”, “Us” or “Our” in this Agreement) refers to The Trauma & Recovery Research Unit, McMaster University, 100 West 5th Street Hamilton, ON, L9C 0E3, Canada.
- Project refers to Canadian Emergency Response Psychosocial Support Network, which has been created by McMaster University Faculty of Health Sciences, specifically the Trauma & Recovery Research Unit.
- Personal Data is any information that relates to an identified or identifiable individual.
- Service refers to this website.
- Usage Data refers to data collected automatically, either generated by the use of the Service or from the Service infrastructure itself (for example, the duration of a page visit).
Collecting and using Your Personal Data
Types of Data collected
Usage Data
Usage Data is collected automatically when using the Service.
Usage Data may include information such as Your Device’s Internet Protocol address (e.g., IP address), browser type, browser version, the pages of our Service that You visit, the time and date of Your visit, the time spent on those pages, unique device identifiers, and other diagnostic data.
When You access the Service by or through a mobile device, We may collect certain information automatically, including, but not limited to, the type of mobile device You use, Your mobile device unique ID, the IP address of Your mobile device, Your mobile operating system, the type of mobile Internet browser You use, unique device identifiers and other diagnostic data.
We may also collect information that Your browser sends whenever You visit our Service or when You access the Service by or through a mobile device.
Tracking technologies and Cookies
We use Cookies and similar tracking technologies to track the activity on Our Service and store certain information. Tracking technologies used are beacons, tags, and scripts to collect and track information and to improve and analyze Our Service. The technologies We use may include:
- Cookies or Browser Cookies. A cookie is a small file placed on Your Device. You can instruct Your browser to refuse all Cookies or to indicate when a Cookie is being sent. However, if You do not accept Cookies, You may not be able to use some parts of our Service. Unless you have adjusted Your browser setting so that it will refuse Cookies, our Service may use Cookies.
- Web Beacons. Certain sections of our Service and our emails may contain small electronic files known as web beacons (also referred to as clear gifs, pixel tags, and single-pixel gifs) that permit the Company, for example, to count users who have visited those pages or opened an email and for other related website statistics (for example, recording the popularity of a certain section and verifying system and server integrity).
Detailed information on the processing of Your Usage Data
The Service Providers We use may have access to your usage data. These third-party vendors collect, store, use, process, and transfer information about your activity on our website in accordance with their own Privacy Policies.
Analytics
We may use third-party Service providers to monitor and analyze the use of our Service.
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a web analytics service offered by Google that tracks and reports website traffic. Google uses the data collected to track and monitor the use of our Service. This data is shared with other Google services. Google may use the collected data to contextualize and personalize the ads of its own advertising network.
You can opt-out of having made your activity on the Service available to Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on. The add-on prevents the Google Analytics JavaScript (ga.js, analytics.js and dc.js) from sharing information with Google Analytics about visits activity.
For more information on the privacy practices of Google, please visit the Google Privacy & Terms web page: policies.google.com/privacy
Email Marketing
We may use Your Personal Data to contact You with newsletters, marketing or promotional materials and other information that may be of interest to You. You may opt-out of receiving any, or all, of these communications from Us by following the unsubscribe link or instructions provided in any email We send or by contacting Us.
We may use Email Marketing Service Providers to manage and send emails to You.
Mailchimp
Mailchimp is an email marketing sending service provided by The Rocket Science Group LLC.
For more information on the privacy practices of Mailchimp, please visit their Privacy policy: mailchimp.com/legal/privacy
Usage, performance, and miscellaneous
We may use third-party Service Providers to provide better improvement of our Service.
Polylang
Their Privacy Policy can be viewed at polylang.pro/privacy-policy
Site Kit
Their Privacy Policy can be viewed at policies.google.com/terms
Your GDPR privacy rights
The Company undertakes to respect the confidentiality of Your Personal Data and to guarantee You can exercise Your rights.
You have the right under this Privacy Policy, and by law if You are within the EU, to:
- Request access to Your Personal Data. The right to access, update or delete the information We have on You. Whenever made possible, you can access, update or request deletion of Your Personal Data directly within Your account settings section. If you are unable to perform these actions yourself, please contact Us to assist You. This also enables You to receive a copy of the Personal Data We hold about You.
- Request correction of the Personal Data that We hold about You. You have the right to have any incomplete or inaccurate information We hold about You corrected.
- Object to processing of Your Personal Data. This right exists where We are relying on a legitimate interest as the legal basis for Our processing and there is something about Your particular situation, which makes You want to object to our processing of Your Personal Data on this ground. You also have the right to object where We are processing Your Personal Data for direct marketing purposes.
- Request erasure of Your Personal Data. You have the right to ask Us to delete or remove Personal Data when there is no good reason for Us to continue processing it.
- Request the transfer of Your Personal Data. We will provide to You, or to a third-party You have chosen, Your Personal Data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format. Please note that this right only applies to automated information which You initially provided consent for Us to use or where We used the information to perform a contract with You.
- Withdraw Your consent. You have the right to withdraw Your consent on using your Personal Data. If You withdraw Your consent, We may not be able to provide You with access to certain specific functionalities of the Service.
Your California privacy rights
The CCPA/CPRA provides California residents with specific rights regarding their personal information. If You are a resident of California, You have the following rights:
- The right to notice. You have the right to be notified which categories of Personal Data are being collected and the purposes for which the Personal Data is being used.
- The right to know/access. Under CCPA/CPRA, You have the right to request that We disclose information to You about Our collection, use, sale, disclosure for business purposes and share of personal information.
- The right to say no to the sale or sharing of Personal Data (opt-out). You have the right to direct Us to not sell Your personal information. To submit an opt-out request, please see the “Do Not Sell My Personal Information” section or contact Us.
- The right to correct Personal Data. You have the right to correct or rectify any inaccurate personal information about You that We collected. Once We receive and confirm Your request, We will use commercially reasonable efforts to correct (and direct our Service Providers to correct) Your personal information, unless an exception applies.
- The right to limit use and disclosure of sensitive Personal Data. You have the right to request to limit the use or disclosure of certain sensitive personal information We collected about You, unless an exception applies. To submit, please see the “Limit the Use or Disclosure of My Sensitive Personal Information” section or contact Us.
- The right to delete Personal Data. You have the right to request the deletion of Your Personal Data under certain circumstances, subject to certain exceptions. Once We receive and confirm Your request, We will delete (and direct Our Service Providers to delete) Your personal information from our records, unless an exception applies.
- The right not to be discriminated against. You have the right not to be discriminated against for exercising any of Your consumer’s rights, including by:
- Denying goods or services to You
- Charging different prices or rates for goods or services, including the use of discounts or other benefits or imposing penalties
- Providing a different level or quality of goods or services to You
- Suggesting that You will receive a different price or rate for goods or services or a different level or quality of goods or services
In order to exercise any of Your rights under the CCPA/CPRA, and if You are a California resident, You can contact Us by email using mckinres@mcmaster.ca.
Links to other websites
Our Service may contain links to other websites that are not operated by Us. If You click on a third-party link, You will be directed to that third party’s site. We strongly advise You to review the Privacy Policy of every site You visit.
We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third party sites or services.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
We will let You know via email and/or a prominent notice on Our Service, prior to the change becoming effective, and we will update the “Last updated” date at the top of this Privacy Policy.
You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.
Contact us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, You can contact us by email using mckinres@mcmaster.ca.
Social support