The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Global Health Dermatology

Claire Hannah; Victoria Williams; Lucinda Claire Fuller; Amy Forrestel

doi:10.1016/j.det.2021.05.005

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Global Health Dermatology

Dermatol Clin. 2021 Oct;39(4):619-625. doi: 10.1016/j.det.2021.05.005. Epub 2021 May 31.

Authors

Claire Hannah¹, Victoria Williams², Lucinda Claire Fuller³, Amy Forrestel⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Dermatology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 3600 Spruce Street, 2 Maloney, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
² Department of Dermatology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 3600 Spruce Street, 2 Maloney, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Merck & Co, Inc, Upper Gwynedd, PA, USA.
³ Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK; International Foundation for Dermatology, London, UK.
⁴ Department of Dermatology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 3600 Spruce Street, 2 Maloney, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. Electronic address: amy.forrestel@pennmedicine.upenn.edu.

Abstract

In this article, we discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on various areas of global health dermatology, including patient care, neglected tropical diseases, education, and collaborations. Information was collected from literature review and informal interviews with more than 20 dermatologists from around the world. Many of the setbacks and hardships experienced by the global health community in the last year highlight long-standing global interdependencies and systems that perpetuate ethnic, economic, and social inequalities on local and global scales. The pandemic has brought discussions on global health colonialism and domestic health inequality to the forefront.

Keywords: COVID-19; Dermatology; Global health; International; Pandemic.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

COVID-19 / epidemiology*
Dermatology / trends*
Global Health*
Health Status Disparities*
Humans
Practice Patterns, Physicians' / statistics & numerical data*
Skin Diseases / therapy
Social Problems
Socioeconomic Factors