Making Sense of Skin Color in Clinical Care

The background of this article is that assessment and quantification of skin color is important to health care; color is one indicator of overall health and is linked to oxygenation, tissue perfusion, nutritional status, and injury. The purpose is to describe how skin color varies across racial/ethnic groups so that the information can be applied to clinical practice. The method used is cross-sectional, descriptive design (n = 257). We recorded self-defined race/ethnicity and used a spectrophotometer to measure skin color at two anatomic sites. Skin color variables included L* (light/dark), a* (red/green), and b* (yellow/blue). As regards results, we found significant differences in L*, a*, and b* values by site and race/ethnicity in White, Asian, and Biracial participants. L*: F(3, 233) = 139.04, p < .01 and F(3, 233) = 118.47, p < .01. Black participants had significantly lower mean L* values and wider ranges of L*, a*, and b* as compared with other groups. In regard to application, these findings suggest that clinicians and researchers should plan and provide care based on skin color, rather than race/ethnicity.