Skin Tone Representation on Patient-Facing Skin Cancer Education Websites.

ABSTRACT

When patients self-detect suspicious skin lesions, they often reference online photos prior to seeking medical evaluation. Online images must be available in the full spectrum of skin tones to provide accurate visualizations of disease, especially given the increased morbidity and mortality from skin cancer in patients with darker skin tones. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the representation of skin tones in photos of skin cancer on patient-facing websites. Six federally-based and organization websites were evaluated, and of the 372 total representations identified only 49 depicted darker skin tones (13.2%). This highlights the need to improve skin tone representation on patient-facing online resources. J Drugs Dermatol. 2024;23(5)e137-e138.     doi10.36849/JDD.7905e.