Mitigating racial disparities in healthcare : The critical need for representation of diverse skin tones in UK medical education

<ns3:p>Background Racial disparities in healthcare diagnostics are a persistent challenge, particularly in the field of dermatology, where people of colour (POC) may experience delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis due to challenges of physicians being unable to identify the unique symptoms and presentations. Medical education contributes to these health disparities as a lack of teaching on various skin tones reduces diagnostic confidence and accuracy in identifying unique symptoms on POC. Methods To address this in the UK context, two investigations were conducted by myself at the University College of London (UCL): a focus group study and an evaluation of some dermatology resources from the UCL Medical School’s (ULCMS) Y5 MBBS dermatology curriculum to assess the representation of teaching of skin tones in a UK Medical school and its impact on medical students’ confidence. Results Chi-squared results from the quantitative analysis of the curriculum reveal a general underrepresentation of various skin tones in educational resources, although there has been a gradual improvement over time. Focus Group Study findings indicate that incorporating a variety of skin tones into examinable materials may enhance learning outcomes. Additionally, the evaluation of the curriculum highlights a better representation of various skin tones in examinable resources like “GP Workshop station” materials, indicating awareness of the issue within UCLMS. Conclusion Whilst progress is being made, further efforts are necessary to ensure comprehensive exposure to various skin tones in medical education, ultimately as a step to mitigating racial disparities in healthcare diagnostics effectively.</ns3:p>