Equity in dermatology: Skin Care For All  

Advocating and promoting the concept of “Skin Care For All” is central to efforts addressing skin health disparities and achieving skin equity. To achieve and sustain skin equity, a practical action framework is proposed that relies on 4 pillars: cross-sectoral collaboration, evidence-based policies with implementation in mind, community, and individual implications.

Skin diseases are a leading cause of health burden, affecting 30 to 70% of individuals across cultures and ages [1]. Community skin health has not been prioritised while it contributes to the global disease burden. Skin health disparities are often caused by Social Determinants of Health, consisting of economic and political structures, social and physical environments, and access to health services.

Dr Jeslyn Tengkawan (Johns Hopkins University, USA; Capella Project Foundation, Indonesia) argued that Skin Care For All should be achieved through need assessments and research into emerging public health diseases, and plans on how to implement these findings in public health through cross-sectoral collaboration. Dr Tengkawan presented an action framework aimed at improving skin health through a community-health improvement process model. The model starts with problem identification and prioritisation of the burden of skin-health problems in the community, which should be conducted by the government, stakeholders, and institutions. Community education and awareness also play a big role in the proposed model.

The action framework Dr Tengkawan and her team propose can especially support those in developing countries, to start promoting and advocating the importance of the Skin Care For All concept.

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   1. Tengkawan J, et al. An Action Plan Framework For Global Health Dermatology To Reduce Skin Health Disparities And Achieve Skin Care For All. Abstract 145, ICD 2021, 10­–13 November 2021.

 

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Posted on 2 December, 20212 December, 2021