127 - Skin Tone Diversity and Clinical Assessment: A Scoping Review

Poster Board Number: 127
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Odd poster #s – first hour
Even poster #s – second hour

Abstract Body : Introduction:
Clinical assessment is a crucial step in the continuum of care, allowing clinicians to diagnose, refer, and prescribe the most appropriate treatment for their patients. To ensure equitable care, clinicians must understand how skin tone diversity can impact clinical assessment. Considering a long-standing history of racial inequity within Western scientific tradition, racial bias and discrimination are built into our health systems and can impact how marginalized communities navigate care. Thus, understanding where progress needs to be made to help ensure equitable, culturally safe care is a necessity to properly treat and serve a changing demographic in Canada. With this scoping review, we intend to determine the current breadth and depth of literature that explores how clinical assessment and skin tone diversity intersect.

Materials and Methods:
The review protocol was developed in accordance with JBI scoping review methodology and the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). The scoping review protocol was prospectively registered with Open Science Framework. A search strategy was conducted in 5 databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINHAL, Web of Science, and Global Health) to identify published and unpublished literature. Sources that explore the impact of skin tone as it relates to clinical assessment with a health disparity, health practice, and/or educational lens will be included in the review.

Results:
Following deduplication using Endnote 20, 2053 sources were identified. Title/abstract screening, full-text screening, and data extraction on included articles will be conducted by two or more blinded reviewers. Included articles will be reported on in graphical and descriptive formats where appropriate.

Conclusion:
The scope of literature representing the intersection of skin tone diversity and clinical assessment will be reported on.

Significance/Implications:
We aim to not only synthesize the literature that does consider diversity, but also highlight gaps in the literature for future resource development. These results will be paramount for use in curriculum, education, and training, alongside breaking down barriers that marginalized populations experience in accessing equitable and safe care.

Funding Sources:
This research has been supported by a Partnered in Teaching and Learning Grant from McMaster University.