You will find 70.8 million persons displaced worldwide due to war, persecution, and violence. Eighty percent of displaced persons reside in low‐ and middle‐income countries with limited healthcare resources. Cutaneous diseases are commonly reported among displaced persons due to numerous interrelated factors such as inadequate housing, overcrowding, food insecurity, environmental exposures, violence, torture, and healthcare infrastructure breakdown. Diagnosis and management of these conditions and an understanding of the context in which they present are crucial to providing dermatologic care for displaced populations worldwide. Herein, the researchers define displaced people and, within this context, review the epidemiology of skin diseases, discuss pertinent skin conditions, examine challenges to care provision, and present approaches for improving dermatologic care.
Inflammatory and communicable infectious disorders are the most common skin diseases seen in displaced populations. Other relevant conditions include skin manifestations of heat injuries, cold injuries, immersion foot syndromes, macronutrient and micronutrient deficiencies, torture, and sexual and gender‐based violence. The provision of dermatologic care to displaced populations is hampered by limited diagnostic and therapeutic resources and specialist expertise. Medical screening for cutaneous disorders, context‐relevant dermatology training, and telemedicine are potential tools to improve diagnosis and management of skin diseases in displaced populations.
Ref: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ijd.15063
