Diverse images in healthcare

News - 17 January 2024

Many healthcare images do not represent the communities we serve. The University of the West of England (UWE) and and NHS England (NHSE) are looking to photograph a number of medical conditions on people with different skin tones.
A Black medical professional taking a photo of something in a hospital setting. He is wearing blue disposable gloves and an apron.

Medical conditions can look different depending on a person’s skin tone. In many healthcare resources there are very few pictures of people with different skin tones. This means people with darker skin experience greater chance of misdiagnosis than people with lighter skin.

To help, UWE and NHSE want to take pictures of the below medical conditions on people with a range of skin tones and create a digital collection of photographs:

  • Amputations

  • Athletes Foot 

  • Baby Acne

  • Basal cell carcinoma

  • Bruising 

  • Burns

  • Cellulitis 

  • Chickenpox

  • Cochlear Implants (hearing aids)

  • Cold sores 

  • Complex Regional Pain Syndrome

  • Cradle Cap

  • Deep Vein Thrombosis

  • Dermatitis 

  • Eczema

  • Erythema Toxicum 

  • Hand, Foot and Mouth

  • Heat Rash

  • Impetigo

  • Jaundice

  • Kaposi Sarcoma 

  • Keloid Scarring 

  • Klippel-Feil syndrome

  • Kyphosis

  • Lordosis

  • Lupus

  • Lyme Disease

  • Mastitis

  • Measles

  • Melanoma

  • Meningitis Rash

  • Merkel-call -carcinoma

  • Milia

  • Molluscum

  • Nappy Rash

  • Necrotising fasciitis

  • Peripheral Vascular Disease

  • Pityriasis

  • Pressure Sores

  • Psoriasis 

  • Psoriatic Arthritis

  • Raynaud Syndrome

  • Rheumatoid Arthritis (hands and feet)

  • Ringworm

  • Rubella

  • Scabies

  • Scarlet Fever

  • Scars

  • Scleroderma

  • Scoliosis

  • Shingles 

  • Slapped Cheek Syndrome

  • Squamous cell carcinoma

  • Stroke

  • Stye

  • Swelling

  • Thrush

  • Ulcers 

  • Venous Eczema 

  • Verruca

  • Warts

  • Wounds 

These pictures will be helpful for teaching and identifying conditions in all skin tones, leading to faster diagnosis, and better experiences of healthcare.

The first photography event is planned for Wednesday 24th January 2024 at the Malcolm X Centre, St Pauls, Bristol. If you are willing to be photographed, sign up here.

You might also be interested in

Outline of a person surrounded by arrows.

Healthwatch BNSSG's Equality, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (EDEI) policy

In carrying out our functions as a statutory organisation we promise to ensure that the values of equality, diversity, equity and inclusion are embedded into everything we do. We are committed to creating the right culture, skills and priorities to ensure that no individual is discriminated against in the planning and delivery of any of our activities.
Report