For over 40 years the International Association for Human Caring (IAHC) has provided a welcoming place for individuals from varied cultures, backgrounds, and professional disciplines to explore, discover, share knowledge and experiences related to Caring.  IAHC believes that Caring encompasses spiritual and human consciousness that connects and transforms. Our mission is to create positive Caring in healthcare, and beyond.

About us

In 1978, the National Caring Research Conference was conceived and initiated by Dr. Madeleine Leininger. The annual conference was designed to gather scholars together to share ideas, research, and theories of care and caring.

The core philosophy of the association is based on the belief that caring is the essence of nursing and caring is the unique and unifying focus of the profession.

The national organization began in 1987 through the generosity of 42 charter members. In 1989, with the encouragement of nurses from around the world, the conference association was changed to the International Association for Human Caring (IAHC) Inc.

Watch a video of reflections from two past presidents of IAHC

Purpose

The central purpose IAHC is to provide a worldwide forum for scholars and practitioners of nursing and other disciplines to share their theoretical, research, and related experiences to advance caring science knowledge and to use this knowledge to improve human care. Toward this purpose, nurse scholars, leaders, educators, administrators, bedside and clinical nurses, student nurses, nurse artists, and professionals from other health care disciplines worldwide are invited to share their theoretical, research, and experiential knowledge, as well as their aesthetic work, at the annual IAHC conferences, in the International Journal for Human Caring, and through continual networking to advance and improve caring knowledge and practice.

IAHC continues to be committed to this purpose. In 1994, the late Dr. Leininger established the Leininger Research Scholarship Fund to assist in the financial support of nurse researchers studying the phenomenon of human care and caring. Several additional scholarships have been added over the years to support scholars, students, and international members in their study of caring and participation at the annual conferences. Newsletters and webinars have been added in the past few years.  The many book and journal publications, conference presentations worldwide by members, and the IAHC website (www.humancaring.org) are additional vehicles that promote the purpose of the IAHC.