Policies

Content Inventory and Posting Schedule

The National Institute on Aging, following the guidance of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), developed this inventory of content as required by Section 207(f)(2) of the E-Government Act of 2002. For a comprehensive inventory of HHS content and background on this requirement, go to www.hhs.gov/webinventory.
 
Categories of Information Disseminated by NIA
  • Column 1 lists the categories of information NIA disseminates.
  • Column 2 indicates the priority NIA assigns to publication of each category.
    •    Priority 1: Urgent public health emergency and safety information.
    •    Priority 2: Time-sensitive information.
    •    Priority 3: Information of interest to a broad spectrum of audiences.
    •    Priority 4: Other information.
  • Column 3 indicates the publication schedule for the category.
Category
Priority
Publication Target
  • Press information, including press releases, fact sheets, speeches, events, and testimony.
2
As available, unless otherwise required by law
  • Authoritative health, scientific, and consumer information intended for consumers, the professional community, students, researchers, and the media.
3
As available, unless otherwise required by law
  • General agency information, such as mission and function statements, leadership biographies, visitor information, employment opportunities, staff directories, etc.
4
As available, unless otherwise required by law
  • Programmatic and administrative information, including descriptive narratives, statistical information, technical assistance materials, best practices, and reports.
4
As available, unless otherwise required by law
  • Grant and contract policy and funding information related to all programmatic activities.
2
As available, unless otherwise required by law
  • Research resources such as data banks, gene collections, model organisms, cell registries, and reagent repositories.
4
As available, unless otherwise required by law
  • Reports to Congress as required by statute.
4
As required by law

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Copyright and Trademark Information

The public may reproduce without permission information from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) Go4Life website, except for documents that state another copyright policy applies to them. Restrictions on the reproduction of a document may arise if a private party has sponsored it. Information presented on NIA’s Go4Life website is authored and owned by the Federal Government, which is in the public domain.
 
However, using NIA websites, you may encounter documents, illustrations, photographs, or other information resources contributed or licensed by private individuals, companies, or organizations that may be protected by U.S. and foreign copyright laws. Transmission or reproduction of protected items beyond that allowed by fair use as defined in the copyright laws requires the written permission of the copyright owners.  See Copyrighted Materials section below for further details.
 
Specific NIA websites containing protected information provide additional notification of conditions associated with its use.
 
Any information that is reproduced from this site should contain proper acknowledgement of NIA as the originator and NIA’s Go4Life website (www.nia.nih.gov/Go4Life) as the source.
 

Copyrighted Material

Some information on NIA’s Go4Life website may be subject to copyright restrictions. This information includes documents, images, or multimedia to which another copyright policy applies. This information may include but is not limited to:
  • Rights managed images, documents, or multimedia
  • Royalty free images, documents, or multimedia
  • Privately sponsored images, documents, or multimedia
  • Documents, images, or files marked with a copyright symbol
  • Documents, images, or files displaying the phrase, “All Rights Reserved”
Note: United States law does not require a copyright notice, and therefore, not all copyrighted material available on NIA’s Go4Life website will be necessarily marked in these ways. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the person/agency using or copying the information to research whether the information is copyrighted and under what laws the material falls, as well as what restrictions for use may be applicable. 
 
If a page is copyrighted, transmission or reproduction of protected items beyond that allowed by fair use as defined in Federal copyright laws may require written permission of the copyright owners.
 
 
 

FOIA - Freedom of Information Act

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552 provides individuals with a right to access information in the possession of the U.S. Federal Government. The Government, however, may withhold information covered by 9 exemptions and 3 exclusions contained in the Act.
 
Before submitting a request under FOIA, individuals should try to determine whether the information sought is already in the public domain and whether it is or may be held by the National Institute on Aging.  NIA has information available in both published and electronic formats.  A search of NIA's website, www.nia.nih.gov, can be helpful in locating information and lists of available publications.
 
If data produced under an NIA grant are sought, the data will be released under FOIA only if specific requirements are met.
 
It is important to note that FOIA allows agencies to recover part of the costs associated with responding to requests. Department of Health and Human Services regulations describe specific rules for fees, requesting a fee waiver, and reducing fees.
 
Questions about FOIA and requests for information held by NIA can be directed either to the NIA FOIA Office or to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) FOIA Office.
 
To request a funded grant or other information, send a signed letter with as much detailed information as you have.  Please include your telephone number and address.
 
Send to the NIA FOIA Office located at:
6705 Rockledge Drive
Suite 6070
Bethesda, MD 20892-7957
Telephone: 301-496-9737
Fax number: 301-402-3604
 
 
 

Information Quality

The NIA adheres to National Institutes of Health standards for information quality, found at http://aspe.hhs.gov/infoquality/Guidelines/NIHinfo2.shtml.
 
 

No FEAR Act - Notification and Federal Employee Anti-discrimination and Retaliation Act

On May 15, 2002, President Bush signed into law the Notification and Federal Employee Anti-Discrimination and Retaliation (No FEAR) Act (Public Law No. 107-174) to increase Federal agency accountability for acts of discrimination or reprisal against employees. The No FEAR Act became effective on October 1, 2003.
 
This act requires that Federal agencies post on their public websites certain summary statistical data relating to equal employment opportunity complaints filed against the respective agencies.
 
Statistical information in accordance with the No FEAR Act relating to the National Institutes of Health equal employment opportunity complaints is available on the NIH/OEODM website.
 
 

Privacy Policy

Of the information we learn about you from your visit to the National Institute on Aging Go4Life website, we store only the following: the domain name from which you access the Internet, the date and time you access our site, and the Internet address of the website from which you direct-linked to our site. This information is used to measure the number of visitors to the various sections of our site and to help us make our site more useful to visitors. Unless it is specifically stated otherwise, no additional information will be collected about you.
 
When inquiries are e-mailed to us, we store the question and the e-mail address information so that we can respond electronically. Unless otherwise required by statute, we do not identify publicly who sends questions or comments to our website. We will not obtain information that will allow us to personally identify you when you visit our site, unless you chose to provide such information to us.
 
To protect your privacy, be sure to close your browser completely after you have finished conducting business with the NIA Go4Life website.  If you are concerned about the potential use of information gathered from your computer by cookies, you can set your browser to prompt you before it accepts a cookie. Most Internet browsers have settings that let you identify and/or reject cookies.
 
Questions about NIH privacy policies should be sent to the NIH Privacy Act Officer.
 
 

Security

This website is part of a Federal computer system used to accomplish Federal functions. Computer software programs as well as other methods are used to monitor network traffic on this website for security purposes. By accessing this website, you are expressly consenting to these monitoring activities.
 
Unauthorized attempts to defeat or circumvent security features; to use the system for other than intended purposes; to deny service to authorized users; to access, obtain, alter, damage, or destroy information; or to otherwise interfere with the system or its operation are strictly prohibited.
 
Evidence of such acts may be disclosed to law enforcement authorities and may result in criminal prosecution under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act of 1996, as codified at Section 1030 of Title 18 of the United States Code, or other applicable criminal laws.
 
 

Website Linking Policy

Links to Non-Federal Government Websites

The NIA Go4Life website links to various other websites, including those that are not owned or sponsored by the U.S. Federal Government. These sites provide information and/or services not available on an official U.S. Federal Government website. NIA provides these links for public service only and does not imply endorsement nor does it guarantee the quality or credibility of any external organizations, services, advice, or products included on these other sites. Furthermore, the U.S. Federal Government neither controls nor guarantees the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of the content contained by these external links.

Notification

A notification page will alert a website visitor before he or she is redirected to a non Federal Government website. The notice page shall state:
 
"You are now leaving the official NIA Go4Life website. NIA is not responsible for the availability or content of these external sites, nor does NIA endorse, warrant, or guarantee the products, services, or information described or offered at other Internet sites.”

Evaluation Criteria (See Disclaimer of Endorsement for more information on this topic.)

The NIA evaluates all suggested links using the criteria noted below with an approval review process conducted by NIA.

Required:

The linked website must have one or more of the following elements:
  • The linked website provides official Federal Government information or services.
  • The linked website complements existing information, products, and services on the NIA Go4Life website.
  • The linked website's information appears to be accurate and current as indicated by references, and date of creation and/or revisions submitted.
  • The linked website is accessible and applicable to a wide audience.
  • The linked website is maintained by an organization or cosponsor that has a direct relationship with the NIA.
  • The linked website has a direct contractual relationship with the NIA for the provision of goods and/or services.
  • The linked website provides citizens, businesses, and/or government officials with the information they need to interact directly with government organizations (e.g., clearly available telephone numbers, street addresses, e-mail addresses, and instructions).
  • The linked website provides community-level information and services.

Links to U.S. Federal Government Websites

The NIA can link to any U.S. Federal Government website that is publicly available. Acceptable U.S. Federal Government-owned or Government-sponsored website domains include .gov, .mil, and .fed.us. NIA also provides links to: quasi-government agencies and websites created by public sector/private sector partnerships; State and local government sites (e.g., www.maryland.gov); and some websites that end in .com, .org, or .net.

Disclaimer of Endorsement

The information posted on the NIA Go4Life website includes hypertext links or pointers to information created and maintained by other public and/or private organizations. The NIA provides these links and pointers solely for our users' information and convenience. When users select a link to an outside website, they are leaving the NIA site and are subject to the privacy limitations and policies of the owners/sponsors of that website.
  • The NIA does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of information contained on a linked website.
  • The NIA does not endorse the organizations sponsoring linked websites, and does not endorse the views they express or the products/services they offer.
  • The NIA cannot authorize the use of copyrighted materials contained in linked websites. Users must request such authorization from the sponsor of the linked website.
  • The NIA is not responsible for transmissions users receive from linked websites.
  • The NIA does not guarantee that outside websites comply with Section 508 (Accessibility Requirements) of the Rehabilitation Act.
During your visit to our website, your web browser may produce pop-up advertisements. These advertisements were most likely produced by other websites you visited or by third party software installed on your computer. NIA, along with other agencies of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, does not endorse or recommend products or services that may appear as pop-up advertisements on your computer screen while visiting its site.

Scheduled Review Process of Links

The links provided in the NIA website are reviewed on a quarterly basis at a minimum or more frequently as required by NIA management and/or relevant regulation changes, to ensure the links are still operational and still provide value to the mission of the NIA.
 
If there is an oversight to this review process and a user encounters a link that is no longer operational, she/he is encouraged to report this error to the NIA Webmaster as a broken link.

Linking to the NIA Go4Life Website from Your Website

The National Aging Institute encourages links to its public web resources.
 
Individuals or organizations wishing to link to the NIA Go4Life website should direct their link to www.nia.nih.gov/Go4Life. If a description is to be provided with the link, the following wording shall be used:
 
“The National Aging Institute's Go4Life website (www.nia.nih.gov/Go4Life ) is an institute of the NIH, a U.S. Federal Government agency that provides accurate, up-to-date information about aspects of aging research, information about clinical trials, educational materials and resources about aging for the general public, and information for researchers and health professionals.”
 
Links to individual pages within the NIA website (www.nia.nih.gov) are also permissible, using the above paragraph and any descriptive notes that accurately reflect the content of the linked page(s). These pages include www.nia.nih.gov/Espanol, www.niapublications.org, go4life.nia.nih.gov, and www.nia.nih.gov/Go4Life.  
 
The NIA periodically redesigns its website, so content may be located at different web page addresses. Every attempt is made to ensure existing links will continue to forward a user to their requested page(s). However, it is strongly recommended that organizations review their external links frequently to ensure each link referenced is still operational.
 
 

Page last updated Jul 29, 2010