Skip to Main Content
Library Research Guides

Skin of Color

Resources and tools to facilitate work, study, and knowledge around skin of color.

Library Contacts

LaTeesa James
lateesaj@umich.edu

Photograph of Kathryn Vanderboll

Kathryn Vanderboll
kvanderb@umich.edu

 

MGetIt Full Text Article Content

The library purchases many journal subscriptions, whenever possible giving you electronic access.
  
The   button lets you see if an article in a database is available in print or electronically.
 
If the article is available electronically, you'll be taken either directly to the article or to a menu of options, where you can follow a link to the article, search the Library Catalog Search to see if we have a print copy, or request a copy from another library usng InterLibrary Loan (ILL).

Searching the scholarly literature on topics related to skin of color can be challenging because there are diverse ways to describe the concepts of skin color, race, and ethnicity. We encourage you to search more than one resource using multiple search terms to successfully locate relevant resources. 

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to one of the library contacts to set up a consultation.

Suggested Databases

Below are databases that index journals whose content may cover skin of color.

Suggested Search Terms

An effective search strategy contains both keywords and subject headings. Databases contain millions of journal articles, and most are indexed with specific subject headings (such as MeSH or Emtree), which can help make your searches more focused. Keywords are still useful, especially when searching highly specific terms or populations that don't have an indexing term. 

Here are a few search terms which may be helpful for you. This list is not comprehensive. 

Skin of color terms Race / ethnicity terms
“Skin of color” 
"Skin of colour" 
Skin tone
"Dark skin"
"Dark skinned"
"Darker skin"
"Black skin"
"Brown skin"
"Fitzpatrick skin phototype"
"Skin pigmentation" 
Melanin
Hyperpigmentation
Hypopigmentation
Dyschromia

"Person of color"
"People of color"
Race
Racial 
Ethnicity
Ethnic
"African American"
Arab
Arabs
"Asian American"
Hawai'ian
Hawaiian
"Pacific Islander"
"American Indian"
"Alaska Native"
Indigenous
Native
Aboriginal (people or person)
Hispanic
Latino
Latina 
Latinx
"Mexican American"
"Mexican Americans"

Other terms of potential interest to combine with the list above: 

Diagnosis / screening terms Inequality in health care terms Education terms

Diagnosis
Misdiagnosis
"Diagnostic Errors"
"Symptom Assessment"
"Delayed Diagnosis"
"Early Diagnosis"
Detection
Screening

 "Health disparities"
"Healthcare disparities"
"Health equity"
Inequity
Inequality
Discrimination
Racism 
"Race factors"		 Education
"Medical students"
"Nursing students"
"Medical education"
"Undergraduate Medical Education"
"Graduate Medical Education"
Curriculum
Training
Courses
Educational activities
Assessment
Teaching

 

Pubmed / Medline Search Tips

Below is a basic search strategy that you can use to begin searching literature about skin of color in PubMed.   You can edit and combine with other terminology to make the search more focused (e.g., combine with surgical scarring terminology). Simply copy and paste the strategy below into the PubMed search bar.

Please feel free to contact Kathryn Vanderboll for an in depth, individual information consultation:kvanderb@umich.edu

("Race Factors"[MeSH Terms] OR "Skin Pigmentation"[MeSH Terms] OR "Skin"[MeSH Terms] OR "Ethnicity"[Mesh] OR "American Indian or Alaska Native"[Mesh] OR "Asian"[Mesh] OR "Black or African American"[Mesh] OR "Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander"[Mesh] OR "African People"[Mesh] OR "Asian People"[Mesh] OR "Black People"[Mesh] OR "Caribbean People"[Mesh] OR "Central American People"[Mesh] OR "Middle Eastern and North Africans"[Mesh] OR "Oceanians"[Mesh] OR "South American People"[Mesh] OR "Indigenous Peoples"[Mesh] OR "Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander"[Mesh] OR pigment*[tiab] OR racial[tiab] OR race[tiab] OR racism[tiab] OR African*[tiab] OR Black American*[tiab] OR black[tiab] OR blacks[tiab] OR negro*[tiab] OR Native American*[tiab] OR Indian*[tiab] OR Indigenous People*[tiab] OR First Nation People*[tiab] OR "Native People"[tiab] OR Inuit*[tiab] OR Arab[tiab] OR Arabs[tiab] OR Palestinian*[tiab] OR Asian*[tiab] OR Burmese*[tiab] OR Cambodian*[tiab] OR Vietnamese*[tiab] OR Japanese[tiab] OR Korean*[tiab] OR Mongoloid*[tiab] OR Asiatic*[tiab] OR Thai[tiab] OR Thais[tiab] OR Chinese[tiab] OR Hispanic*[tiab] OR Spanish[tiab] OR Puerto Rican*[tiab] OR Cuban*[tiab] OR Latin*[tiab] OR Mexican*[tiab] OR Hawaiian*[tiab] OR Pacific Islander*[tiab] OR Aborigin*[tiab] OR "people of color"[tiab] OR "people of colour"[tiab] OR "skin of color"[tiab] OR "skin of colour"[tiab] OR "brown skin"[tiab] OR "black skin"[tiab] OR "dark skin"[tiab] OR "dark skinned"[tiab] OR "darker skin"[tiab] OR melanin[tiab] OR ethnic*[tiab] OR skin tone*[tiab] OR skin color*[tiab] OR skin colour*[tiab] OR "skin phototypes"[tiab] OR hyperpigmentation[tiab] OR hypopigmentation[tiab] OR dyschromia[tiab]) AND ("Dermatology"[Mesh Terms] OR dermatolog*[tiab])