Dr. Jeong Chan-woo from South Korea was recognised for his 'Skin health promotion for orphanage/ low-income youth' initiative at the International Awards for Social Responsibility in Dermatology, “Caring to Inspire Skin Confidence”.
This entailed helping children from low-income families, without parents or those living away from their parents, to receive education on how to prevent skin diseases.
According to Dr. Chan-woo, the initiative is also about offering access to high quality treatment if they are suffering from a dermatological condition.
"L'Oreal's awards aim to celebrate the often unseen efforts and hard work carried out by dermatologists worldwide by rewarding voluntary initiatives from individuals, associations or hospitals that favour patient support and care in order to inspire confidence and encourage social inclusion, independently from their medical treatment."
Criteria
A total of 118 applications from the five main geographical areas - Africa and Arab States, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and North America were submitted and evaluated by an independent Steering Committee of six worldwide 'renowned' dermatology experts.
Initiatives were required to fall into at least one of the three main categories; Prevention and Education, Improved Quality of Life and Self-Esteem, and Access to Care Coverage and Surgery.
These three categories include:
- Educating patients and providing support for preventing dermatological conditions
- Improving the physical and psychological quality of life and self-esteem of those affected
- Providing patients with better access to care, coverage and surgery
'Helping patients to restore their self-confidence'
According to L’Oréal, people with dermatological conditions may frequently face discrimination and feel socially excluded.
The company states that overall, the idea behind the awards is to "recognize the significant and positive social impact of dermatologists, when helping patients to restore their self-confidence in living with their conditions on a daily basis."
The awards were also supported by the International League of Dermatological Societies and one winner per region received funding to help them continue developing their project.