Assessment of Dermatologists at Skin of Color Clinics

As a physician, narrowing ones' practice to a particular pathology or group of people is common. Dermatologists are able to concentrate within a number of different areas: cancer, cosmetics, pediatrics or ethnic populations to name a few. Recently, there has been an emphasis on developing skin of color (SOC) clinics and recruiting dermatologists who focus on skin diseases that effect patients with skin of color. In this study, patients with SOC is defined to encompass that of persons of African, Asian, Native American, Middle Eastern, and Hispanic backgrounds. An emphasis on SOC benefits patients in a variety of ways: 1) these dermatologists are trained to recognize pathology that may present differently, depending on the Fitzpatrick skin type and ethnicity of the patient, 2) these dermatologists are trained to address medical disparities that are present among patients with SOC, 3) these dermatologists are trained to address culturally sensitive topics that may be common among patients with SOC. Despite the growing number of SOC patients and the benefit that SOC clinics provide, studies have not looked at the characteristics that influence dermatologists to focus on SOC as opposed to other specialty areas. Therefore, we aim to identify information that may influence dermatologists to focus on skin disease prevalent among patients with SOC.

Currently, there are nine academic institutions with an Ethnic Skin Center in the United States. Given the limited number of academic centers with a designated center focused on SOC, a lot of care of skin of color patients happens in private practices. This is supported by the fact that many of the members in the Skin of Color Society are dermatologists in private practices. Thus, SOC clinic is defined broadly in our study to encompass not only academic dermatologists but also private practice dermatologists who have special interest in care of skin of color patients. Regardless of the type of practice, we hope to identify unique characteristics of dermatologists focusing on SOC skin diseases.