Privacy Policy

What you need to know

The REFLECT Trial is a study aiming to mitigate the effects of climate change in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Oceania. This global research initiative focuses on evaluating the effectiveness of cool roofs as an affordable, easy-to-implement solution to counter the severe impacts of extreme heat exacerbated by climate change. Conducted in diverse locations—Burkina Faso, Mexico, India, and Niue—the study explores various aspects of climate adaptation. It encompasses three critical phases: a qualitative analysis of community views on climate change and cool roofs, a detailed examination of the physical benefits of cool roofs, and a comprehensive cluster randomised controlled trial (cRCT) to assess the health, economic, and environmental outcomes of cool roof installations. This multifaceted approach is designed to generate valuable insights for guiding investment decisions and policy-making in climate change adaptation efforts.

Our website does not provide medical advice. The content and information on this website are intended for informational purposes only and should not be used for any medical or diagnostic purposes. It should not be relied upon as a substitute for advice from a qualified medical, or other health professional.

You should consult your general practitioner (GP) or other qualified health professional if you have questions or concerns about your own health or the health of someone else in your family.

If you require urgent medical assistance, please dial your local emergency number or visit the nearest Emergency Department. For non-urgent health concerns, we advise scheduling an appointment with your GP or healthcare provider.

If you have any questions about our Privacy Policy or anything else, please contact us. We will respond as soon as we can.

For further details on our Privacy Policy please see below.

Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy sets out how we use and protect your personal information when you access and use the REFLECT website. Read it carefully.

• We are committed to:
• Protecting the privacy of your personal information.
• Meeting our obligations under the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020 and any other relevant international data protection regulations.

This Privacy Policy may be updated to reflect changes in legal or operational requirements, with updates provided on the website. This Privacy Policy was last updated in November 2023.

Definitions used in these Terms

In this Privacy Policy:

"REFLECT": Refers to both our website and the trial.

“Personal information” has the meaning in the Privacy Act 2020, and generally means information about an identifiable individual.

“University” or “we” means the University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau.

“UniServices” means our wholly owned subsidiary, Auckland UniServices Limited.

Collection of Personal Information and Purposes of Use

We collect the following information for the following purposes:

• Your contact details including your first name, last name and email to effectively respond to your queries and provide appropriate assistance.
• We collect information about how you use the website through the use of cookies using Google Analytics (e.g., visits) to enable us to improve the website. Further information on our use of cookies is set out below.
• We also use the above information to operate, improve and optimise the website and/or as otherwise permitted at law.
• Minimal data that you choose to provide within the website will also be stored locally on your browser for as long as you choose to use the website. This information is not collected by us, and will not be shared with third parties.

Cookies

Cookies are small text files that are stored on your browser or device by a website or app.

Cookies cannot damage files, nor can they read information from the hard drive of a computer.

We use Google Analytics cookies to help remember users and monitor how they interact with the website. For example, we use cookies to determine website traffic and trends. Generally, that information is used to help us improve and personalise your online experiences.

How Google uses cookies, and information collected by Google Analytics is subject to the Google Privacy Policy.

You can disable the acceptance of cookies by adjusting the settings in your web browser, although this may restrict your ability to access some web pages.

Sharing of Personal Information

We require any third party with whom we share information to provide the same level of protection of your data set out in this Privacy Policy.

• The following groups of people may have access to your identifiable information:
• Approved research staff administering surveys and interviews.
• The ethics committees or government agencies from New Zealand or overseas if the study is audited. Audits are done to make sure that participants are protected, the study is run properly, and the data collected is correct.
• Rarely, it may be necessary for the study research team to share your information with other people. For example, if there is a serious threat to public health or safety, or to the life or health of you or another person, or if the information is required in certain legal situations.

We share your personal information with UniServices, as described further below.

Rights of Access

You can ask us what personal information we hold about you, and ask for access to and/or for us to correct any personal information that we hold about you, by contacting us . Our response to such requests will consider both New Zealand law and the relevant international data protection standards.

Storage and Security

We take reasonable security safeguards to ensure that your personal information is protected against unauthorised loss, access, use, modification, disclosure and other misuse, but it is not possible to guard against every risk of misuse.

Identifiable information will be held in electronic case report forms and stored in secure, cloud-based storage for ten years, for the purposes of the REFLECT study. De-identifiable information (i.e., your information without your name) will be stored in electronic case report forms and stored in secure, cloud-based storage indefinitely for the purpose of future research projects.

Our website relies on reputable external service providers for data storage and the utilization of various applications and tools, hosting through Amazon Web Services (AWS) with servers located in Australia, unless specified otherwise.

Retention/Deletion of your information

We retain your information for only as long as it is needed to meet the purposes above, or for as long as it is required by law. Post-study, data retention duration aligns with legal and ethical standards, considering both New Zealand and international guidelines.

General

While based in New Zealand, we respect global data protection norms and strive to comply with applicable international regulations.

This policy is governed by New Zealand law but takes into account the global nature of the study and its participants.