Joint Statement on Diversity and Inclusion

A Global Call for Action to Address Unmet Needs in Psoriasis

The International Psoriasis Council (IPC) and IFPA recognize the importance of collaboration to ensure optimal access to care and advance the knowledge of psoriasis.

To fulfill its mission, IPC and IFPA strongly advocate that early diagnosis is crucial and must be available for all individuals regardless of race, ethnicity, physical ability, culture, nationality, or geographic location (i).

Historically, people from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities have been underrepresented regarding skin manifestations of psoriasis. This is partly due to the difficulty in assessing erythema when patients have dark skin tones, as well as the lower prevalence of psoriasis in populations of color. Furthermore, hyper- and hypopigmentation complicates psoriasis in patients with dark skin tones, causing an important impact on quality of life. The different appearance of psoriasis in patients with various skin tones presents a barrier and skewed appreciation of psoriasis. Optimization of training is needed to improve diagnosis among different groups of people living with the disease (ii). While there have been significant advances in treatment, we acknowledge that there is still an unmet need for healthcare professionals within training institutions to receive training materials on how psoriatic disease manifests among individuals of different ethnicities and skin types.

Our global partnership in this joint statement reflects our commitment to combine expertise, maximize the impact of joint initiatives, and foster global collaboration.

IFPA is committed to representing diversity and inclusion in the full spectrum of psoriatic disease. IFPA will continue to review its activities, projects, and programs to fulfill this commitment.

IPC regards skin color as of major significance in diagnosis, disease severity assessment, and treatment of psoriasis. Medical training institutions are of central importance in reconciling the importance of skin color in the management of psoriasis. Research institutions should prioritize the genetic background and the immunophenotype of psoriasis in the context of skin color and develop tools to better measure the impact of psoriasis on the skin of color and further research to identify, reduce and eliminate disparities in the diagnosis and treatment of psoriasis.

To fulfill our commitment, we will continue collaborating with partners to call for inclusion and diversity.

References

i IFPA Strategy 2021–2030 https://ifpa-pso.com/resources...;

ii Takeshita J, Eriksen WT, Raziano VT, et al. Racial Differences in Perceptions of Psoriasis Therapies: Implications for Racial Disparities in Psoriasis Treatment. J Invest Dermatol. 2019;139(8):1672-1679.e1. doi:10.1016/j.jid.2018.12.032