Legal
Terms and Conditions
Not medical advice
1. Using this website
MedEquity is an independent, student-founded public health education and research website about Texas counties. By using the site you agree to these terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the site. The site is free, requires no account and may be used by anyone, including students and educators.
2. Educational purpose
- Content is provided for education and research. It describes conditions and populations, not any individual.
- Do not use MedEquity to make decisions about your own or anyone else’s diagnosis or treatment. Talk to a qualified health professional.
- MedEquity is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, any government body or any medical institution, including the agencies whose data and publications it cites.
3. Data and statistics
County values come from public sources: CDC PLACES (model-based estimates with uncertainty, not direct counts), CDC heart disease death rates (age-standardized and spatially smoothed) and Census Bureau ACS poverty estimates (survey estimates with margins of error). Values can be missing or suppressed, sources revise their data, and some measures cannot be compared over time. Each indicator’s source, definition and limitations are documented on the Data & Methodology page.
Correlations and other results in Research & Insights describe patterns across counties. They do not show that one factor causes another, and they do not describe individuals. You are responsible for how you interpret and use results.
4. Accuracy and availability
We work to keep content accurate: articles are written from cited official sources, data files are validated before publication, and corrections are logged publicly. Even so, the site is provided “as is” and “as available”, without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including accuracy, completeness, fitness for a particular purpose or uninterrupted availability.
If you find an error, please report a correction.
5. Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, MedEquity and its founder are not liable for any loss or harm arising from your use of, or reliance on, the website, its content or its data. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law.
6. Reusing content and data
- Source data keeps the terms of its original publisher. CDC material is generally public domain: cite CDC as the source, do not change its substantive content, and note that it is available free on cdc.gov. Reference to CDC data does not imply endorsement by CDC, HHS or the U.S. Government. Census Bureau data should be cited as the Census Bureau asks. County boundaries come from U.S. Census Bureau files via the us-atlas project.
- Exports (CSV files, charts and PDF reports) may be used for education, research and journalism. Keep the source attribution and caveats included with each export, and do not remove suppression or present modeled estimates as direct counts.
- MedEquity’s own text and design — including articles, explanations and interface — remain the property of MedEquity. You may quote short passages with attribution and a link. Please ask through the contact page before republishing whole articles.
7. Acceptable use
- Do not attempt to disrupt, overload or gain unauthorised access to the website or its hosting.
- Do not misrepresent MedEquity content, data or results, or present them as the work or endorsement of another organisation.
- Do not send unlawful, abusive or spam messages through the contact form, and do not include personal medical information in messages.
8. Links to other websites
MedEquity links to official sources and other websites for reference. We are not responsible for their content, availability or privacy practices.
9. Privacy and cookies
How MedEquity handles information is described in the Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. In short: no accounts, no cookies and no analytics.
10. Governing law
These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Texas and applicable U.S. federal law.
11. Changes to these terms
We may update these terms as the site develops. Changes take effect when posted here, and the effective date above will change. Continuing to use the site after a change means you accept the updated terms.