The Tuskegee Study and the Distrust of Black America in the Medical Field, Research Paper Example

In 1932, the United States Public Health Service initiated a study that recorded the history of syphilis. The federal entity partnered with the Tuskegee Institute in efforts to justify proposed treatment for African Americans. Although the Public Health Service named the experiment the “Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male,” the federal entity refrained from telling participants the details of the study. As a result hundreds of African American men died, leaving the relationship between Black America and the medical field tarnished. Although some African Americans participate in medical studies, many refuse to partake in the experiment process without knowing experiment details for fear of being treated like the Tuskegee Study contributors.

The “Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male” experimental process began when 600 African American men volunteered to be tested and treated for “bad blood.” Among the six-hundred volunteers, only 399 men were found to have Syphilis. Whereas the infected men were held for observation and supposed treatment, the 201 non-infected men were used as a control group. All of the men underwent ritualistic treatments in efforts to exacerbate suspicion. Although the non-infected men did not suffer complications, participants with Syphilis developed serious medical problems as the study progressed. At least 28 men died as a result of Syphilis when the study concluded in 1972. The remaining participants with the disease were treated but still suffered the effects of delayed help. Such effects have caused a great divide between the African American community and experimental sector of the medical field that even a presidential apology could not mend.

In an article entitled “African Americans’ views on research and the Tuskegee Syphilis Study,” Vicki Freimuth and other professional elites discuss the relationship between Black ¹America and the experimental sector of the medical field in light of the 1932 study. The authors explain, “the legacy of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study has emerged as the most frequently cited contemporary event to justify African American’s suspicion of research. The Tuskegee Syphilis Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male, 1932-1972, was the longest non-therapeutic study in medical history. The participants in the study were never informed that they had the disease, and when penicillin became the standard of care, the men were prevented from receiving treatment.”¹

While not a valid reason to refuse care for AIDS and other prevalent diseases in Black America, African Americans often feel justified in not participating in medical experiments. Many members of the black community feel that the medical field used the 600 men in the Syphilis study as test puppets and hence refuse to subject themselves to such torture without a viable explanation of the experiment.

Although many African Americans refuse to participate in studies, some individuals will give themselves to be observed and treated in experiments if the facts are presented beforehand. In a whitepaper release, The Endocrine Society showed proof of an increase in experiment volunteers in the African American community when participants are completely informed of the purpose and outcome of study results. Among 1,600 African Americans invited to take part in clinical studies in 2007, 45% invitees responded positively. While still less than half, the amount of positive response is great when compared with participation in the 1990s. Among other things, the statistical evidence shows “that despite multiple recognized and legitimate obstacles to ²participation in clinical studies, minority people are indeed willing to participate in clinical studies when they are offered honest information and enrollment.”²

While willing to participate in clinical studies, African Americans are not obliging like the majority race. The Endocrine Society reports that 47% of White Americans were willing to participate in studies involving surgical intervention. No data is available to represent African Americans in the surgical experiment sector. Although the lack of data could be representative of few studies of such nature offered to African Americans, it could also speak of the mistrust of Black America in medical experiments. While many individuals in the African American community are trusting of studies that involve minor clinical research, few are willing to participate in experiments that require subjection to substantial bodily harm or death.

The Tuskegee study was intended help Black America by extending treatment of Syphilis to African Americans. Instead, the experiment physically injured participants and tarnished the relationship that African Americans have with the medical field. While the majority of Black America will readily take their children or themselves to an emergency room if an illness calls for such treatment, few will voluntarily participate in a research project without hearing the facts of the survey. Although skepticism is sometimes a good attribute, the mistrust of black America in experiments could have served as hindrance to the medical community when finding cures for diseases. AIDS and breast cancer, for instance, may have been cured by now if more participation from Black America were given. However, it is understandable for the African American community to be skeptical of research after previous members were treated in such an inhumane manner by the federal government.

Although a solution to the problem of medical experiments and participation in the African American community has not been reached, researchers can begin with honesty. Many African Americans are willing to consent to clinical and interview-only studies if they are assured that such participation will not have negative effects. In the current age of information and technology, it is best to present a complete layout of plans and invite potential participants to sign a detailed document specifying experiment facts. In addition, researchers should rid themselves of biases that prevent them from offering various types of experiments to African Americans. Black America and the medical field must reach a common ground of agreement before experiment participation can spurge.

Notes

Freimuth, Vicki; Quinn, Sandra; Thomas, Stephen; Cole; Galen; Zook, Eric; Duncan, Ted, “African Americans’ views on research and the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, Social Science and Medicine, no. 52 (2001): 797-808.

Increasing Minority Participation in Clinical Research, The Endocrine Society (2007), pgs. 3-9.

¹ Freimuth, Vicki; Quinn, Sandra; Thomas, Stephen; Cole; Galen; Zook, Eric; Duncan, Ted, “African Americans’ views on research and the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, Social Science and Medicine, no. 52 (2001): 797-808.

² Increasing Minority Participation in Clinical Research, The Endocrine Society (2007), pgs. 3-9.