Skin Tone Representation of Early Lyme Disease in Medical Education Resources: Gaps and Implications for Equity.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Cutaneous Lyme disease presents differently in light versus dark skin, and delayed diagnosis can increase outcome severity. Insufficient exposure to manifestations of Lyme disease in dark skin during medical training may contribute to health inequities due to late or missed diagnoses. It remains unclear how Lyme disease, specifically, is represented in commonly used medical training materials. To inform curricula updates, we identified primary educational resources used for teaching dermatology at top-tier U.S. medical schools and assessed the representation of erythema migrans on light and dark skin in these materials.

Methods

In this cross-sectional content analysis, commonly used training resources for 50 top U.S. medical schools were identified by reviewing we

SUBMITTER: Baffoe-Mensah N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12804630 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan-Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature