Showcasing The Need for Diversity in Medical Illustration

Written by: Taylor Jones, PharmD, BCPS, Associate Scientific Director (she/her)

When delving into the long history of medical distrust and inequities within the Black community, many often cite the Tuskegee trials, Henrietta Lacks, or J. Marion Sims.

While these historical atrocities can provide context into more recent occurrences, present-day Black communities’ distrust in the health care system cannot be solely attributed to these instances. Every day, Black Americans continue to experience having their conditions misdiagnosed and their pain denied because of the historical implications race has and continues to play in medical education and clinical decision-making in health care.

Despite skin being on the outside, it’s very telling about a person’s overall health and what’s happening on the inside. How a skin disease or condition affects someone can look remarkably different depending on their skin tone. The lack of diversity in medical literature specifically contributes to missed, incorrect, and delayed diagnoses of darker-skinned patients.

According to research conducted by Penn Medicine, only 4.5% of illustrations in general medicine textbooks show dark skin. This is troubling, given the Black/African American population of 41.1 million accounted for 12.4% of people in the United States in 2020. The research cited that textbooks have limited representations of dermatologic conditions in darker skin, like acne. However, infectious diseases, such as syphilis, are well represented in all skin types, suggesting possible bias in when darker skin tones are chosen to represent diseases. All these things echo the deep-seated distrust of the medical system within the Black community.

As attention is so recently being brought to the need for diversity in the medical illustration field, artists are wielding their creative sensibilities to directly address the issue. Aspiring physician and medical illustrator, Chidiebere Ibe, is especially a large advocate for this unmet need.

You may recognize his work from late 2021. His illustration of a pregnant Black woman carrying a Black fetus took the internet by storm. It immediately caught the attention of many HCPs, including myself, who voiced that through their years of training, they had never seen a medical illustration of a Black person before.

Because Ibe’s illustration gained global recognition and motivated more research around improving health care outcomes, he granted members of the public to use it freely for research, education, and advocacy. He hopes to drive much-needed change and continues to advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion in medicine.

At RFH, we don’t shy away from highlighting the disparities that exist around us, and—like Ibe—we will continue to advocate for a more inclusive health care space. We believe that modern brands require modern ways of thinking, and that doesn’t just mean being up to date on the latest trends or using the latest innovations in tech. It means leading the conversations that help to shape our culture and ensuring that the work we do is reflective of, and sensitive to, the world around us. 

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For more information about DE&I at Razorfish Health, read more about how we are moving the needle for our agency. 

At Razorfish Health, we know what it takes to navigate the modern health care landscape. If you want to fuel your knowledge, please reach out to Delia.Pavlichko@razorfishhealth.com. We’re interested in hearing your perspective, as well as your thoughts, on the upcoming communication challenges and opportunities.