Over the past decade scabies has been recognised as a "neglected tropical disease" (NTD) by the World Health Organisation, has an accepted practical system of global diagnostic criteria and is being adopted into integrated programmes of mass drug administration for NTDs in field settings. In resource-poor settings, it is the downstream sequelae of staphylococcal and streptococcal bacteraemia, induced by scratching, which have a significant impact on the long-term health of communities. In developed, high-income settings, health institution and residential home outbreaks challenge health and social care services. It was really impactful, and it showed me that what we’re doing is valuable.Human scabies, a common infestation, has a worldwide distribution with a variable impact and presentation depending on the clinical situation. “Seeing some participants come together and share, ‘I feel like I’m not being seen,’ ‘I can’t go to someone I feel comfortable with,’ and having others say, ‘Me too,’” Okoro says, “it felt like a little therapy session. The organizers say they hope the “healing community” they built in person at the salon will continue online. Each month a dermatologist presents on a topic and then a panel of experts-including an aesthetician or hairstylist-answers questions from the audience.
#SKIN DEEP QUESTIONS SERIES#
She offered to host the in-person events, which typically attracted 30 to 40 people the series is now held virtually.īrown’s dermatology department lends faculty support at the events, while the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs awarded Petersen Educational Enhancement funds to continue the popular series, which features speakers from different backgrounds and other dermatology programs.
When the series launched in December, panelists were able to make those connections in a comfortable setting: BeauEssence Natural Hair Salon in Providence, owned by Henebeng’s stylist, Rodlyne St. Even more crucial was connecting with community members “who didn’t already have care established.”
#SKIN DEEP QUESTIONS SKIN#
“In America, skin represents so much of who you are, that for dermatology not to be a part of your health story doesn’t make sense,” she says. Negbenebor references a common myth: that individuals identifying with different ethnic groups do not get certain skin conditions, and thus don’t require dermatological care. “Unfortunately, our results showed that we can do so much better,” Okoro says. Okoro and Henebeng have studied various schools’ dermatology curriculums for skin of color inclusivity. “If you’re taught that eczema’s always red or pink and dry, but you come across somebody with darker skin that might be a bit purple or darker brown, it could be a lot of different things.” Without proper training, “it can lead to an easy misdiagnosis.” “Dermatology is a very visual field, and pattern recognition is huge,” she says. As chair of Brown’s Dermatology Diversity Initiative Committee, she regularly reviews lectures for inclusivity. “Before we knew it, we had a program started.”Įven at elite universities, much of medicine is still taught using a “one size fits all” approach, and in dermatology,Ĭaucasian skin is the default, Negbenebor says.
“We were all looking for some way to involve more of the community and make more of a priority-not only for Brown Dermatology, but for Providence in general,” says Okoro, who graduated in the spring and will complete her dermatology residency at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. The three friends bonded over a shared passion for outreach. What they didn’t expect was to inspire new friendships and therapeutic healing. When Uzoamaka Okoro ’16 MD’20, EB Henebeng MD’21, and dermatology resident Nicole Negbenebor MD’18 RES’23 organized the Skin of Color Community Series last fall, their goal was to bring dermatological expertise to marginalized communities chronically overlooked by the medical establishment. Community series brings dermatology expertise to people of color.
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