With the concurrent rise of COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement, it has come to light that medical guides are failing to account for clinical symptoms on a diverse range of skin tones.
For COVID-19 in particular, diagnostic signs include rashes among other symptoms. Because the presentation of skin diseases vary based on skin colour, it is key to understand the differences in order to effectively evaluate and treat patients.
Unfortunately, a study that examined 130 published clinical photos of coronavirus-related skin manifestations didn’t find a single image of a patient with dark skin. All 130 photos featured patients with light skin. This is particularly shocking, considering the fact that black people in the UK and US accounted for 30 percent of COVID‐19 cases, despite only being 13 percent of the total population.
Because of the lack of representation for those with black and brown skin in clinical teachings, medical professionals are uninformed and are prone to misdiagnose or completely miss symptoms of illnesses.
Malone Mukwende, a medical student at St George’s, University of London, realized the dangers of such a narrow perspective. In response, Mukwende undertook the project of re-shaping the medical curriculum.
With the assistance of Margot Turner, senior lecturer in diversity and medical education, and Peter Tamony, clinical skills lecturer, Mukwende published Mind the Gap, a handbook of clinical signs on black and brown skin.
In an interview with BME Medics, Mukwende wished for Mind The Gap to become the norm in all medical institutions. “This being everywhere from medical school libraries through to GP consultation rooms,” Mukwende says. He anticipates that this will begin to make healthcare professionals cognizant of their unintentional biases.
Certainly, tackling the lack of representation in the medical sphere is imperative. Reexamining and improving healthcare save lives – and Mukwende is paving the way.
