Disparities in Dermatology: Improving Visual Recognition from Book to Bedside

This session will highlight current and historical data pertaining to dermatologic healthcare disparities impacting people of color. Beginning with the basics, hair and skin types will be reviewed along with how physiology contributes to skin and hair health. This session will discuss common dermatologic conditions seen in people of color, contrast how common dermatology pathology presents across the skin spectrum, and provide current disparities experienced by communities of color. For example, despite the fact that there is a higher incidence of melanoma in white patient, Black patients have a higher rate of mortality from melanoma due to delayed, and less accurate, diagnoses. The faculty will also discuss how people of color are underrepresented in medicine; they are under-researched and underrepresented in medical curricula. The session will conclude by highlighting tools to improve early and accurate diagnoses of dermatologic conditions in people of color and supplying strategies to improve provider bias.