My Role:
I conducted research on medically accurate terms for describing psoriasis and other skin conditions across diverse skin tones and ethnicities. This research informed a comprehensive audit of WebMD’s Psoriasis, Eczema, Lupus, and Breast Cancer channels. The audit identified content requiring updates to ensure inclusivity and medical accuracy.
Tools Used: Excel (for term audits), Google Docs, Keywords Everywhere, and internal content management systems.
Outcome and Impact
- Improved inclusivity and representation for individuals with psoriasis and other chronic skin conditions on WebMD’s platform.
- Helped WebMD align its content with modern health equity principles.
- Enhanced user experience by providing accurate and representative health information.
- Before transitioning to grad school, I updated content for 2 (Psoriasis and Eczema) skin conditions and had a total of 4 conditions slated for updates.
Project Overview
This project was aimed at improving the inclusivity and accuracy of WebMD’s skin content. The goal was to ensure descriptions of symptoms and imagery represented diverse skin tones and ethnicities, addressing historical inequities in dermatological descriptions.
My Process
Project Management Scope
- Planning and Goal Setting (Research Term Identification Phase): I developed the project framework and timeline for auditing 4 skin conditions to ensure accurate symptom descriptions across skin tones and diverse populations.
- Stakeholder Collaboration (Audit of Existing Content): I coordinated efforts with Asset Management, Medical Review, Editorial, and Image teams to recommend updates to language and images for clinical accuracy.
- Execution & Content Creation/Updates (Content and Collaboration Update): I conducted in-depth audits of terms, phrases, and images across WebMD’s psoriasis channel, flagging assets for updates to reflect modern health equity principles.
- Content Creation and Updates: I updated content for 2 skin conditions before transitioning to graduate school, with 4 total conditions slated for revision.
- Quality Assurance: I ensured updated content was reviewed by medical professionals to maintain accuracy and avoid tokenization or biased language.
Project Management Tracking Documents
Developed stakeholder-based spreadsheets and created a detailed task breakdown with step-by-step completion instructions.
Future Content Updates
WebMD Website: This work helped guide the updates of new long form medical reference articles across skin conditions to suit specific audiences, like this:
