Honors Theses
Date of Award
5-2026
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Degree Name
BS
Department
Nursing
Faculty Mentor
Joyce Pittman, Ph.D.
Advisor(s)
Paula Levi, Ph.D. and Theresa Wright, Ph.D.
Abstract
Pressure injuries (PIs) involve impaired skin integrity due to unrelieved pressure over a bony prominence. PIs can be categorized by the depth of the injury and by six stages: Stage 1, 2, 3, 4, unstageable, and deep tissue pressure injury. The most common way the Stage 1 is described is as an area of nonblanchable erythema. Nonblanchable erythema often cannot be observed in darker skin tones. This description is taught first in textbooks and reinforced during observation in the clinical setting. Healthcare textbooks provide essential information and basic information necessary for healthcare students before they enter into practice. Evidence indicates that there is limited equitable information related to skin and skin disorders in many healthcare textbooks. It is essential for nurses, and other healthcare professionals such as physical therapists and physicians, to know and understand how to perform an accurate skin assessment and to identify various skin conditions in all skin tones and specifically, identify what PIs look like in all skin tones. This study’s purpose is to examine the representation of skin color tones in nursing, medical, and physical therapy (PT) education textbooks regarding images and the narrative content around them.
Recommended Citation
Posey, Alexa, "Skin Assessment in Nursing, Medical, and Physical Therapy Student Education: Skin Tone Variation" (2026). Honors Theses. 145.
https://jagworks.southalabama.edu/honors_college_theses/145
Included in
Body Regions Commons, Digestive, Oral, and Skin Physiology Commons, Medical Education Commons, Nursing Commons, Other Medicine and Health Sciences Commons, Tissues Commons