External Linking Policy

The Internet has a massive trove of health information of varying quality, diversity and worth. In order to bring this to the awareness of our audience, Datelinehealth Africa (DLHA) must of necessity link to external websites. Selecting external sites to link to is not always a simple process as we constantly have to make decisions regarding editorial relevance of content to our mission and audience.

Here are the frameworks within which we take our decisions:

Rationale: Links to external sites must:

i. Provide background or practical information or other key source materials relevant to the health needs of our audience;

ii. Be entertaining, enjoyable and not have obnoxious content;

iii. Be capable of generating informed comments, service and/or provide solutions.

The How: Links to external sites will:

i. Be made purely on editorial merit and preferably free to access. We recognize and notify our users that they may sometimes be asked to register or subscribe before viewing external or internal content;

ii. Generally be editorially selected and reviewed before being made accessible to our audience. DLHA renounces any responsibility for the content of external websites. This is because we have no control on their production and change;

iii. Never be made in return for cash, services or any other consideration in kind except for properly identified sponsored content, .

Links to user generated material

i. Some of the content we link to internally and external are generated by members of the public for example (otherwise referred to as “communities”). The views expressed are those of community members and unless specifically stated are not those of DLHA. If community contents are in breach of the hosting website’s rules as  provided, please alert the community moderators or site owners on the sites where the material appears.

Notices: Links to serve general public health purpose

i. Any professional and non-professional external sites we link to must meet the test of service to public health.

ii. Non-professional sites must be suitable for a general audience including children above age 18 years.  

iii. To the extent that any link opens directly to external sites with medical content that is unsuitable for general non-professional audience, we will make efforts to provide pre-access notice to identify such content and disclaims responsibility for any consequences such content may have on users.

Disclaimers:

i. All links to external sites are provided for informational purposes only and shall not be considered as DLHA endorsed alternatives to professional healthcare provider consultation and management.

ii. When we link to an external link offering commercial services such as online purchases, we disclaim any role whatsoever in any aspect of the transaction between buyer and seller. We admonish buyers to always beware.

iii.The inclusion of a link to an external website from DLHA should not be understood or construed to be an endorsement by DLHA of that website or the site owner’s products/services.

Created: November 20, 2017