A ten-year comparison of women authorship in U.S. dermatology literature, 1999 vs. 2009

Women are entering medicine at increasing rates, particularly in dermatology. In this study, we compared women’s influence and status in academic dermatology with that of men by examining authorship roles in peer-reviewed dermatology literature.Weexamined the literature in2009 and compared that to10 years prior (1999).Atotal of 1399 articles were reviewed, 594 of whichmet study criteria andwere included in statistical analysis. There was amarked increase in senior female authorship over a decade (22% vs. 38%, p b 0.001). Female first authorship increased as well (41% vs. 51%, p b 0.001). In contrast, changes in male senior and first authorship were not statistically significant. Federal funding for female senior authors increased over a decade (19% vs. 37%, p=0.05), and female senior authors in the 2009 cohort were more likely to hold a dual MD/PhD degree (0% vs. 11%, p=0.04) or pure PhD degree (11% vs. 27%, p = 0.04).Women are approaching parity with men in terms of authorship in the dermatology literature, and additional research training and attainment of federal funding have helped women publish as senior authors

A Catalog of Dermatology Utilities: A Measure of the Burden of Skin Diseases

Utilities are measures of quality of life that reflect the strength of individuals' preferences or values for a particular health outcome. As such, utilities represent a measure of disease burden. The aim of this article is to introduce the concept of utilities to the dermatology community and to present a catalog of dermatology utilities obtained from direct patient interviews. Our data are based on 236 total subjects from Grady Hospital (Atlanta, GA), Stanford Medical Center (Palo Alto, CA), and Parkland Hospital (Dallas, TX). The mean time trade-off utilities ranged from 0.640 for blistering disorders to 1.000 for alopecia, cosmetic, and urticaria. The mean utility across all diagnoses was 0.943. We present utilities for 17 diagnostic categories and discuss the underlying reasons for the significant disease burden that these utilities represent. We also present these dermatology categories relative to noncutaneous diseases to place the cutaneous utilities in perspective and to compare the burden of disease. We have demonstrated that skin diseases have considerable burden of disease and provided a preliminary repository of utility data for future researchers and policy makers

Racial disparities in fifth-grade sun protection: Evidence from the Healthy Passages study

Background/Objectives: Despite rising skin cancer rates in children, multiple studies reveal inadequate youth sun-protective behavior (eg, sunscreen use). Using Healthy Passages data for fifth-graders, we set out to determine sunscreen adherence in these children and investigated factors related to sunscreen performance. Methods: Survey data were collected from 5119 fifth-graders and their primary caregivers. Logistic regression was used to assess associations between sunscreen adherence and performance of other preventive health behaviors (eg, flossing, helmet use) and examine predictors of sunscreen adherence. Analyses were repeated in non-Hispanic black, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic white subgroups. Results: Five thousand one hundred nineteen (23.4%) children almost always used sunscreen, 5.9% of non-Hispanic blacks (n = 1748), 23.7% of Hispanics (n = 1802), and 44.8% of non-Hispanic whites (n = 1249). Performing other preventive health behaviors was associated with higher odds of sunscreen adherence (all P \u3c.001), with the greatest association with flossing teeth (odds ratio = 2.41, 95% confidence interval = 1.86-3.13, P \u3c.001). Factors for lower odds of sunscreen adherence included being male and non-Hispanic black or Hispanic and having lower socioeconomic status. School-based sun-safety education and involvement in team sports were not significant factors. Conclusion: Our data confirm low use of sun protection among fifth-graders. Future research should explore how public health success in increasing prevalence of other preventive health behaviors may be applied to enhance sun protection messages. Identifying risk factors for poor adherence enables providers to target patients who need more education. Improving educational policies and content in schools may be an effective way to address sun safety

UV Radiation Protection by Handheld Umbrellas

The handheld umbrella (HU) is a commonly employed method of sun protection by women in many countries in Asia (45% in China1) and the Middle East. In Turkey, hats and umbrellas were found to be the most common photoprotection accessories.