Irvine-based Allergan Aesthetics is broadening its educational initiatives with a focus on driving racial equity in aesthetic medicine.
The company said last week, in partnership with Phoenix-based Skinbetter Science, that it is working with George Washington University to pilot the National Racial Equity Medical Residency Curriculum.
The program will help students in dermatology and plastic surgery residency programs identify and address implicit bias that can lead to misdiagnosis for minorities.
Allergan Aesthetics and Skinbetter Science “are likeminded in our pursuit of advancing equality and diversity in the aesthetics market and believe it is our responsibility to create meaningful, positive change within our own companies, and with our customers,” Carrie Strom, president of Allergan Aesthetics, said in a statement. Â
The companies said the “Dream” initiative comes as a result of case studies and data that suggest darker skin tones are underrepresented in educational materials, driven by nationwide protests and calls for racial equity.
The companies will also sponsor the development of a textbook photo atlas, called “The Spectrum of Dermatologic Disease,” and plan to launch “Forces of Beauty” events to identify differences and drive collaboration across the aesthetic industry.
These projects “immediately expand available resources to enhance the care of all patients, as well as to better diagnose and treat dermatologic conditions across the full spectrum of skin types and patients of color,” Strom said.
