Paving the way to healthcare equity

Raising awareness of existing gaps in the dermatologic care of diverse populations in the United States | Poster presented at the Skin of Color Update | Dermatology Conference | New York City; October 6 – 8, 2023

Andrew Alexis¹, Meena Hansen², Marta Casillas², Maria Jose Rueda², Tanja Bosshard Becker³, Raj Chovatiya⁴
Sponsored by Eli Lilly and Company

¹Department of Dermatology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, USA;
²Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, USA;
³Executive Insight, Zurich, CH;
⁴Department of Dermatology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, USA

BACKGROUND

The field of dermatology has long recognized the heterogeneity of clinical manifestations, disease burden, and management approaches across diverse populations. Nonetheless, a comprehensive overview of existing care gaps is lacking.

OBJECTIVE

Despite growing awareness of the disparities in dermatologic health outcomes among populations with skin of color (SOC) in the United States (US), there is a need to synthesize the current literature to facilitate evidence-based decision-making, guide future initiatives, and ultimately, achieve healthcare (HC) equity.

CONCLUSIONS

Although numerous initiatives have sought to address the disparities in dermatologic health outcomes across diverse populations in the US, there is a need for more targeted, empirically-rooted engagement. To provide optimal care for patients of all backgrounds, understanding the factors that contribute to these incongruities is a crucial step towards the development of potential solutions. This study aims to inspire future initiatives by evaluating existing care gaps in dermatology and proposing a structured framework for periodic assessment of the outcomes attained from these actions

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all interview participants for their thoughtful review of the study results and insightful contributions. We thank Chiara Bostock at Node Medcom Inc. for her writing and editorial assistance. 

Disclosures

RC has served as an advisor, consultant, speaker, and/or investigator for AbbVie, Apogee Therapeutics, Arcutis, Argenx, ASLAN Pharmaceuticals, Beiersdorf, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Cara Therapeutics, Dermavant, Eli Lilly and Company, FIDE, Galderma, Genentech, Incyte, LEO Pharma, L’Oréal, Nektar Therapeutics, Novan, Inc., Opsidio, Pfizer Inc., Regeneron, Sanofi, and UCB. AA has served as an advisor, consultant, speaker and/or investigator for Abbvie, Allergan, Almirall, Amgen, Arcutis, Bausch Health, Beiersdorf, BMS, Bristol-Myers-Squibb, Cara, Castle, Cutera, Dermavant, Eli Lilly, EPI, Galderma, Janssen, L’Oreal, Leo, Novartis, Ortho, Sanofi-Regeneron, Sol-Gel, Swiss American, UCB, VisualDx, Vyne. AA earns royalties with Springer, Wiley-Blackwell, Wolters Kluwer Health. 

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