Publication addresses dermatological conditions in people with darker skin

A new publication from students at the Campbell medical school, as well as Florida State and Tulane universities, focuses on dermatological conditions in people with black and brown skin.

The "zine" - a small, niche magazine - addresses the under-representation of pathologies and basic anatomy of darker skin tones in dermatological literature, says Alexa Kelly, Ph.D., an assistant professor of Anatomy in the Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine (CUSOM) and an FSU graduate.

A SCIENCE IRL: Community SciComm mini-grant funded the student-led zine, called Brown Skin Matters: The Print Edition.

Kelly says she was inspired after watching a Ted Talk by Dr. Chidiebere Ibe, whose illustration of a black fetus went viral and drew attention to a dramatic lack of representation of dark-skinned people in medical textbooks.

"It's kind of remarkable," Kelly says of the Ted Talk. … It was moving for me, personally.

That lack of information and resources for what pathology might look like on people with darker skin tones prompted Kelly to investigate further. She was also inspired by a friend, Ellen Weiss, who runs an Instagram account - @brownskinmatters. The account shares the story of the woman's bi-racial son, whose skin condition was misdiagnosed for years.

According to NBC News, a January 2021 studyby researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that just 4.5 percent of images in general medicine textbooks show dark skin.

For example, conditions such as eczema show as a pinkish color on lighter-skinned people. On people with darker skin, that may not be the case.

"Practicing physicians may not be learning what it looks like to diagnose such a pathology," Kelly says.

Kelly and Weiss are editors for the "zine" team, which includes Dr. Consolata Ignas, a Tanzanian dermatologist, as well as numerous students and medical illustrators. Their goal is bridging that learning gap by providing a resource for people to help them self-diagnose and, if needed, to see a doctor.

The project reads much like an infographic, including large-scale drawings and short, easy-to-understand captions, collectively highlighting specific conditions and pathologies and promoting awareness regarding a variety of skin tones. The zine includes sections on autoimmune disorders, such as psoriasis; eczema; impetigo; sexually transmitted infections, such as herpes; and skin cancers.

The team hopes to distribute the publication online and in print, with a launch party tentatively planned at CUSOM in February. The zine also will be distributed to Campbell University community care clinic sites to help improve health outcomes in the local community.

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