Code of Conduct

AphA (Association of Professional Healthcare Analysts) are committed to the Ethics Group being a space where people feel welcome to discuss and share their thoughts and ideas. Whilst AphA have a professional Code of Conduct for Professional Analytics Competence, it is expanded here for the Ethics Group to ensure that those participating are protected from abuse, harassment or discrimination, and that the discussions we have are supportive and productive.

This Code of Conduct (CoC) is inspired and based upon the RMarkdown’s Contributor Covenant Code of Conduct which in turn has been based on other organisations’ CoCs.

If you would like to suggest an addition or amendment then you can make an issue, submit a PR, or use the AphA contact form.

By “Community” we refer to those involved in these ethics group but also, by extension, any person who these discussions relate to such as other analysts, data scientists or statisticians, people whose work includes analysis and those whose data we work with such as patients and service users.

Our Pledge

We, attenders to this group, pledge to make participation a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of age, body size, visible or invisible disability, ethnicity, sex characteristics, gender identity and expression, level of experience, education, socio-economic status, class, job banding, nationality, personal appearance, race, religion, or sexual identity and orientation.

We pledge to act and interact in ways that contribute to an open, welcoming, diverse, inclusive, and healthy community.

Our Standards

Examples of behaviour that contributes to a positive environment for our community include:

  • Demonstrating empathy and kindness toward other people in this community
  • Being respectful of differing opinions, viewpoints, and experiences
  • Giving and gracefully accepting constructive feedback
  • Accepting responsibility and apologising to those affected by our mistakes, and learning from the experience
  • Focusing on what is best, not just for us as individuals but for the overall community

Examples of unacceptable behaviour include:

  • The use of sexualised language or imagery, and sexual attention or advances of any kind
  • Trolling, insulting or derogatory comments, and personal or political attacks
  • Public or private harassment
  • Publishing others’ private information, such as a physical or email address, without their explicit permission
  • Other conduct which could reasonably be considered inappropriate in a professional setting

Enforcement Responsibilities

Community leaders are responsible for clarifying and enforcing our standards of acceptable behaviour and will take appropriate and fair corrective action in response to any behaviour that they deem inappropriate, threatening, offensive, or harmful.

Scope

This Code of Conduct applies to the Ethics Group and any activities related to this group where an individual is officially representing this group such as written material that appears in this repository, any communications via social media or write-ups such as those for the AphA magazine.

Enforcement

Instances of abusive, harassing, or otherwise unacceptable behaviour may be reported to the community leaders responsible for enforcement at AphA. All complaints will be reviewed and investigated promptly and fairly.

All community leaders are obliged to respect the privacy and security of the reporter of any incident and the Code of Conduct equally applies to the leaders.

Enforcement Guidelines

Community leaders will follow these Community Impact Guidelines in determining the consequences for any action they deem in violation of this Code of Conduct:

1. CORRECTION

Community Impact: Use of inappropriate language or other behaviour deemed unprofessional or unwelcome in the community.

Consequence: A private, written warning from community leaders, providing clarity around the nature of the violation and an explanation of why the behaviour was inappropriate. A public apology may be requested.

2. WARNING

Community Impact: A violation through a single incident or series of actions.

Consequence: A warning with consequences for continued behaviour. No interaction with the people involved, including unsolicited interaction with those enforcing the Code of Conduct, for a specified period of time. This includes avoiding interactions in community spaces as well as external channels like social media. Violating these terms may lead to a temporary or permanent ban.

3. TEMPORARY BAN

Community Impact: A serious violation of community standards, including sustained inappropriate behaviour.

Consequence: A temporary ban from any sort of interaction or public communication with the community for a specified period of time. No public or private interaction with the people involved, including unsolicited interaction with those enforcing the Code of Conduct, is allowed during this period. Violating these terms may lead to a permanent ban.

4. PERMANENT BAN

Community Impact: Demonstrating a pattern of violation of community standards, including sustained inappropriate behaviour, harassment of an individual, or aggression toward or disparagement of classes of individuals.

Consequence: A permanent ban from any sort of public interaction within the community, removal of AphA membership and/or professional registration and reporting of behavioural impact to employer(s).