To accompany “Brown bandages would help make medicine more inclusive”

SCIENCE

Before Reading:

1.  When you get a cut or scrape, what type of bandage do you put on and what color is it?

2.  Why do you think manufacturers made the most common color for bandage a pale peach tone, and not bright white, for instance, or perhaps gray or even orange?

During Reading:

1.  When she was a child, why did Linda Oyesiku color her bandage with a brown marker?

2.  Why does this medical student now carry a supply of bandages with her, even though she knows a doctor’s office can supply one when she needs it?

3.  Some adhesive patches deliver medicines. Name one of two types.

4.  Why does Jules Lipoff argue that dermatology is a good starting point for fighting racism in medicine?

5.  What are “COVID toes?” How does race potentially impact how easily this condition can be diagnosed in Black patients, according to the story?

6.  In a study by Lipoff’s team, what share of images in medical textbooks show dark skin?

After Reading:

1.  Much of the medical research in North America and Europe has been conducted on sick or healthy individuals of European ancestry. Why do you think people from other ethnic backgrounds might not have been included in these studies? What might the impacts of the findings of such studies be on people with something than a solely European heritage?