The Consumer and Patient Health Information Caucus (CAPHIC) joins the MLA leadership, the African American Medical Librarians Alliance (AAMLA) Caucus, and MLA caucuses in strong support of their statements of diversity, equity, and inclusion. We are deeply committed to treating our colleagues and the people of the communities we serve with fairness, kindness, compassion, and respect regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
We will work to promote access to resources and opportunities for all. Our caucus is dedicated to the provision of reliable consumer health information as an essential part of creating an equitable health experience for all. Our dedication to this mission provides us the opportunity to support the creation of a welcoming, comfortable, and safe environment for library users. Some specific ways CAPHIC can contribute are:
- Developing resource guides of consumer health materials promoting health concerns for Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and the LGBTQ+ communities.
- Curating reliable COVID-19 health information to ensure that Black and Hispanic communities have access to current, reliable COVID-19 information due to the health disparities that exist for COVID-19 and Persons of Color.
- Disseminating these resources in our own libraries and in our local communities.
- Supporting the discussion and action aimed at increasing diversity within librarianship and the consumer health information field.
Dana L. Ladd, AHIP, Chair