...The Tuskegee Syphilis Study: Some Ethical Reflections 75 The Tuskegee Syphilis Study: Some Ethical Reflections Adebayo A. Ogungbure Department of Philosophy University of Ibadan, Nigeria philosopher.bayo@yahoo.com Thought and Practice: A Journal of the Philosophical Association of Kenya (PAK) New Series, Vol.3 No.2, December 2011, pp.75-92 thoughtandpractice@gmail.com http://ajol.info/index.php/tp/index Abstract There are established ethical principles to protect human participants in biomedical research from undue exploitation by researchers. However, in the “Tuskegee Study” in the US, these principles were grossly violated. The task of this paper is to critically examine the ethical implications of that study on future practices in biomedical research, and to suggest ways of ensuring that such practices comply with appropriate ethical values. Key Words Bioethics, Biomedical research, clinical research, Tuskegee Study, paternalism, morality Introduction From time to time human beings experience health challenges, whether physical or mental. On its part, medical practice has made considerable progress towards combating or controlling many of these challenges. It is through research that the nature, symptoms and effects of ailments can be ascertained and remedies discovered. Medical researchers engage in both therapeutic and non-therapeutic research. Therapeutic research is that carried out with the purpose of treating disease. On the other hand, non-therapeutic...
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...The Tuskegee Syphilis Study: Some Ethical Reflections 75 The Tuskegee Syphilis Study: Some Ethical Reflections Adebayo A. Ogungbure Department of Philosophy University of Ibadan, Nigeria philosopher.bayo@yahoo.com Thought and Practice: A Journal of the Philosophical Association of Kenya (PAK) New Series, Vol.3 No.2, December 2011, pp.75-92 thoughtandpractice@gmail.com http://ajol.info/index.php/tp/index Abstract There are established ethical principles to protect human participants in biomedical research from undue exploitation by researchers. However, in the “Tuskegee Study” in the US, these principles were grossly violated. The task of this paper is to critically examine the ethical implications of that study on future practices in biomedical research, and to suggest ways of ensuring that such practices comply with appropriate ethical values. Key Words Bioethics, Biomedical research, clinical research, Tuskegee Study, paternalism, morality Introduction From time to time human beings experience health challenges, whether physical or mental. On its part, medical practice has made considerable progress towards combating or controlling many of these challenges. It is through research that the nature, symptoms and effects of ailments can be ascertained and remedies discovered. Medical researchers engage in both therapeutic and non-therapeutic research. Therapeutic research is that carried out with the purpose of treating disease. On the other hand...
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...therapeutic and non-therapeutic research. Therapeutic research is that carried out with the purpose of treating disease. On the other hand, non-therapeutic research is aimed at 76 Adebayo A. Ogungbure furthering the frontiers of knowledge about human health. Furthermore, researchers and physicians often use human beings as objects of scientific investigation, raising certain ethical concerns, including the issue of informed consent and how consent is obtained, selection of participants in research, the welfare of human subjects involved in a research project, what the goals of research ought to be, and what ought to constitute proper procedure for an ethical research. These issues are central to an aspect of applied ethics which is now commonly referred to as research ethics. The aim of research ethics is to ensure that research projects involving human subjects are carried out without causing harm to the subjects involved. In addition, it provides a sort of regulatory framework which ensures that human participants in research are not exploited either physically or psychologically. The need for ethical guidelines for biomedical research is expressed in some of the questions research ethicists are concerned about, including the following: • What are appropriate clinical endpoints that should trigger the termination of a trial? • Are placebo controls defensible in trials with terminally ill patients? • Can there be such a thing as true clinical equipoise? • Is it acceptable to...
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...In 1932, the rural town of Tuskegee was a mostly black town that was governed by whites. World War II had not began, though there was trouble brewing in Europe as these countries began to pacify the fiery German giants who would later commit unspeakable acts, one that horrified Americans who had little knowledge of what was going on in a little Alabama time all at the government’s behest. The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment began in 1932, after the venereal disease section of the PHS created a c study group at its national headquarters to study the sexually transmitted disease known as Syphillis. The man behind the plan was Dr. Taliaferro Clark, a senior officer in the PHS who planned only for the experiment to last for six to nine months, before treating the men and ending the study. He contacted Tuskegee University (then Tuskegee Institute) to gain their cooperation to expand the study into a real-word environment and study the effects. The PHS then invited poor and poorly uneducated African-American men to come to the Institute to receive free medical exams and treatment. They also provided meals and...
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...Ethical Research Research ethics not only protect the rights of human subjects but also encompass a broader range of principles. The notorious Tuskegee study in Alabama that began in 1932and ended in1972 studied black men with syphilis. The study violated ethical principles in that informed consent was not obtained, confidentiality was violated and treatment was withheld when it became available. The study is well known, because of the tragedy it caused for many people and also because of the sheer lack of ethical consideration shown by the scientists concerned. The United States Public Health Service conducted a study for that began in 1932 and lasted until 1972, not the six months that was expected and is described as "the longest non-therapeutic experiment on human beings in medical history" (Brunner, 2009). The Tuskegee Syphilis Study was conducted from 1932 to 1972 around Tuskegee, Alabama. Six hundred poor, and mostly illiterate, African-American males, 400 of whom were infected with syphilis, were monitored for 40 years. Free medical examinations were given; however, subjects were not told about their diagnosis. Even though a cure (penicillin) became available in the 1950s, the study continued until 1972 with participants being denied proper treatment or given fake treatments and placebos, instead. In some cases, when subjects were diagnosed as having syphilis by other physicians, researchers intervened to prevent treatment. Many of the subjects died slow and painful...
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...Bioethics- Tuskegee Syphilis Study BACKGROUND FACTS In the early 70s, the Washington Evening Star newspaper published this headline on its front page: "Syphilis Patients Died Untreated." (CDC) This headline revealed one of America's most dishonorable medical studies, the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. From this very moment, the public knew the long-hidden truth about this notorious study. In 1932, the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) initiated the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. Their goal was to investigate stages in advancement of syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease caused by bacterium that may cause death if untreated. (CDC) Furthermore, the study wanted to investigate how syphilis affects blacks compared to whites. They hypothesized that whites experienced more neurological complications while blacks experience more cardiovascular complications. The study used 399 poor black sharecroppers from Macon County, Alabama with dormant syphilis. An additional 201 healthy, unaffected men that were part of the study served as control subjects. Many bioethical values were largely violated. The physicians conducting the study misled the men from the beginning of the experiment. They purposely told men that they had “bad blood” and that they would treat them. Instead, these men were given a placebo. Physicians made sure that they did not receive treatment or help from anyone else. The reward for this “therapy” was free meals, free medical examinations and free burial insurance...
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...Ethics Analysis Topics: The Tuskegee experiments. There are numerous ethical guidelines in Biomedical Research on human subjects. The increasing research in developing countries and the international guidelines released by the developed countries in 2002 had its focus on the observation of ethical norms for the protection of research subjects (Indian Council of Medical Research 9). The year 1932 was when the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) started its Tuskegee Syphilis Study (Biber 83). This study involved the inspection of untreated latent syphilis cases in human subjects and tried to find out the natural course of the disease. The sample for this study consisted of three hundred and ninety nine black males from Tuskegee, Alabama with late-stage syphilis and two hundred and one non-infected males. Along the years research has been undertaken without the consent of the subjects. The Weber State University website indicates their involvement in the formulation of research guidelines under the Institutional Review Board (IRB). Under the Public Health Service Act there is a regulation to protect human subjects of research and implement a guidance instruction on ethical issues. Three basic principles of ethics were formulated to protect human subjects in biomedical and behavioral research. One of the principle advocates for respect for persons which involves recognition of personal dignity. The second principle aims at ensuring that subjects are protected...
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...Research Work and The Tuskegee Syphilis Study Tammy Warner Grand Canyon University Ethics September 10, 2014 Research Work and The Tuskegee Syphilis Study Much of what we learn in life, we learn from other people. This can be accomplished by learning from other people’s mistakes or we can learn from making our own. This author prefers to learn from other people in hopes of not making a bigger mistake. There are many things that we can learn from The Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male (Smith, 1999). The author would like to explore the ethical issues that were violated to recruit and retain participants in this study and how they are still affecting our profession today as well as how the public views the profession of nursing. History of the Study The Tuskegee Study began in 1932 with approximately 400 sharecroppers who had late stage untreated syphilis. The study included 200 controls that were free of the disease. The 200 men were never told they had syphilis. These men were only told they were in a study but not told what that really meant. According to Harold Edgar (1992) the Tuskegee study was not only an example of a scientific misconduct, but was ethically wrong from the start and was built upon deception. It was a study in which poor, illiterate black men had been deceived into thinking they were being taken care of (Caplin, 1992). As incentives to enter the program, these men were promised free medical care, free hot lunches,...
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...Tuskegee Syphilis Study Dr. Joseph Costa, D.H.Sc, PA-C Health Policy and Management MPH 525 Jessie McCarty April 2013 Table of Contents Chapter Page 1. Tuskegee Syphilis Study 2 2. Tuskegee Basics 3 3. What Went Wrong? 4 Informed Consent 4 Vulnerable Populations 4 Medical Profession Pursued 5 4. Personal Opinion 7 5. Basics of Research 8 Informed Consent 8 Individual Autonomy 9 Beneficence 9 6. Current Policies 11 Policies 11 Exceptions 11 7. Problems with Waving Consent 13 Flexibility 13 Vulnerable Populations 13 Ethical Dilemmas 14 8. Conclusion 16 Chapter 1 Tuskegee Syphilis Study Throughout the years, numerous research studies have taken place. In the United States, on a daily basis thousands of research studies are being conducted. Some of these studies will greatly influence science, while others will make little impact. Historically, some studies have been remembered not for the results, but for ethical dilemmas surrounding the study. The Tuskegee syphilis study is a prime example of a study which made many people aware of the ethical problems surrounding research. The Tuskegee syphilis study made the government begin to analyze how research was performed in the country, and the study opened many eyes to what changes needed to be made. Analyzing the Tuskegee syphilis study allows for one to understand what went wrong with the study and how this study lead to great changes in the world...
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...The Tuskegee Research Study on Syphilis Stephan J. Skotko University of Phoenix January 13, 2010 HCS-435 Ethics: Health Care and Social Responsibility Edward Casey Every person or family member who has faced a medical crisis during his or her lifetime has at one point hoped for an immediate cure, a process that would deter any sort of painful or prolonged convalescence. Medical research always has paralleled a cure or treatment. From the beginning of the turn of the 20th century the most unspeakable appalling atrocities against human beings was The Tuskegee Syphilis Study. One of the most horrendous breaches of ethics in The United States history is Tuskegee’s studies and associated research. . The study and the publicity that surrounded the study was one of the major influences leading to the organized arrangement of laws, rules and principles of the ethical treatment for human beings. Examples of which include; informed consent, patients personal autonomy, patients’ bill of rights, medical code of ethics, and limits to a practitioners professional autonomy. Miracle cures like penicillin and other antibiotics have proven the value of research. Many illnesses and diseases are currently under heavy research. Although not much research can give results that penicillin or other antibiotics have attained does not invalidate the necessity of research and the importance of it. There exist copious treatments...
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...Tuskegee Syphilis Research Study Leslie Valentine ME1415: Medical Law and Ethics and Records Management Ultimate Medical Academy Zakevia Green Abstract In this paper I am going to answer the following questions as the relate to the Tuskegee Syphilis Research Study found on page 264 in the Medical Law and Ethics textbook by Bonnie F. Fremgen. The questions are: 1. Could this type of research be conducted today? Why or why not? 2. What should the public have done, since they knew about the study? 3. In your opinion, how should the data be used that is obtained from an unethical experiment and how can we prevent this from happening again? 4. Discuss the code of ethics as it relates to this study? 5. What are your personal thoughts on the ethical standards exhibited through this study? Tuskegee Syphilis Research Study Any research like the Tuskegee Syphilis Research Study could not be conducted today. There are many reasons as to why this type of research study cannot be conducted today. One reason is because people of all races are more aware of diseases that today’s society has now than they were back then. Also, people nowadays want to be treated for the disease(s) that they have whether than be experimented with. People in today’s society are also more aware of the researches that are taking place to not allow this type of study to be conducted. In my opinion, the public should have not allowed this type of research to be conducted. In the research study...
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...Ethics is a set of moral principles. Principles that people tend to follow on an everyday basis, determining right from wrong. Research ethics is a system that incorporates ethical principles into research practice. Research ethics has three objectives, the first objective is to protect human and animal participants, the second objective is to make sure the research interests the people (individuals, groups and or society) and the third objective is to analyze particular research exercises and ventures for their moral soundness, taking a gander at issues, for example, the administration of hazard, assurance of classification and the procedure of educated assent. Generally, research ethics has customarily centered around issues in biomedical...
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...government commenced a medical study called The Tuskegee Study of Untreated Blacks with Syphilis in Macon County, Alabama. Four hundred and twelve men infected with the disease were selected for the study that faked long term treatment while really only giving placebos and liniments. The goal of this study was to determine if blacks reacted similar to the whites to the effects of the syphilis disease. After forty years it was discontinued and the Senate initiated an investigation of the study. At the time of the investigation, only one hundred and twenty-seven of the study’s original participants were still alive and had not died from the disease (Morehan, 2007). In the film, the story is told from the view point of Nurse Eunice Evers, one key character in the movie, who played the role of the real- life nurse who was a part of the Tuskegee Study. The movie, Miss Evers’ Boys portrays “the emotional effects of one of most amoral instances of governmental experimentation on humans ever perpetrated” (Morehan, 2007). It depicts the government’s involvement in research targeting a group of African American males, as it explores the depths of human tragedy and suffering that result from unethical act. The film also unveiled the racial tension that existed in America which did not only occur in the segregation of skin color but also founded upon disease (Morehan, 2007). The purpose of this paper is to analyze the film in order to critically examine bioethical issues in healthcare, research...
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...Practical ethics studies sometimes confuse sight of what conventional ethics needs to achieve: “a good life for good people over a lifetime in society with others”. Ethical assimilation is essential for all institutes. This is predominantly correct for health care, where there is a fundamental defeat amongst health care providers. "Business and health care do not mix," it is said. (Epic, 1999-2011) When care is delivered and financed by a corporation, and established by business employees (and their families) as a substantial part of benefit, this proposal is unsustainable. This uncovers an un-integrated methodology to health care ethics. The shocking Tuskegee project for example, conceded for more than 40 years from 1932 - 1972. In Tuskegee Alabama, black men were dying of syphilis as physicians examined the development of the disease so it could be studied. It took until 1972 when a leak to the press lead to the termination of the project. In the early 1940s the establishment of the drug penicillin proved to be a successful cure for syphilis. However, the experiment prolonged; even in 1947 when penicillin had become the typical treatment for syphilis. The actions taken at Tuskegee are of importance even today because of the many advances made in medical science. In 1973 an ethics committee panel found that the men had agreed willingly to be observed and treated. However, there was no verification that researchers had given informed consent to them of the study or the real purpose...
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...written by James H. Jones, a passionate summary of decades of ethical issues associated with human experimentation and study by the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) is presented. Jones doesn’t hesitate to reveal his opinions regarding these points, and uses a primarily retro-ethical stance when discussing the events of the Tuskegee Study. Though it is understandable that his strong attitude throughout the book could be considered too biased, or even unfair, Jones scrupulously backs up his strong statements with a plethora of citations including everything from personal interviews with those involved to actual medical literature. In spite of his obvious one-sidedness on the topic, “Bad Blood” still allows the...
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