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Skin Color Representation in Infectious Disease Textbooks
Jessica Thornton1, Allison Giuffre1, Sarah Donohue2
1Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Open Forum Infectious Diseases
|December 16, 2024
Summary
Medical textbooks underrepresent darker skin tones, potentially worsening health inequities. Studies show diseases linked to social stigma are disproportionately depicted on darker skin in infectious disease texts.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Dermatology
- Public Health
Background:
- Medical textbooks play a crucial role in shaping clinical understanding and practice.
- Underrepresentation of darker skin tones in educational materials can lead to diagnostic and treatment disparities.
- Existing literature suggests a general lack of diversity in medical imagery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the representation of different skin tones in infectious disease medical textbooks.
- To compare the depiction of stigmatized versus non-stigmatized diseases across various skin tones.
- To identify potential biases in medical education materials related to skin color.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review and image analysis of infectious disease textbooks.
- Categorization of diseases based on social stigma association.
- Quantitative assessment of image prevalence across different skin tones.
Main Results:
- Images depicting conditions associated with social stigma were found to be significantly more common on darker skin tones.
- Darker skin tones were generally underrepresented compared to lighter skin tones across textbook images.
- This disparity suggests a bias in the visual representation of diseases in medical literature.
Conclusions:
- Infectious disease textbooks exhibit biased representation of skin tones, particularly concerning stigmatized conditions.
- This underrepresentation and biased depiction may perpetuate health inequities and impact clinical training.
- Recommendations for diversifying medical imagery in textbooks are crucial for equitable medical education.
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