Question

Today, scientists agree that good research is ethical in nature and is guided by basic respect for human dignity and safety. However, as you read in the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, this was not the case. Discuss any THREE (3) the ethical violations in the study

Answer 1

Answer:

Ethical violations in the Tuskegee Syphilis Study

1)  Discrimination. Syphilis was recognized as a disease with a major impact on the afro-descendant and in poor conditions population. The studied population was not treated fairly, they were selected from a vulnerable group. Against the bioethical principles of justice.

2) The ethical principle of beneficence was violated since the participants did not have a real benefit from their participation and in the case of the sick people, they had no option to be treated (in 1947 penicillin was already used as a treatment).

Due to the ignorance of the study, the general population was affected by the transmission of the infectious disease.

3) There was no informed consent against the autonomy principle of clinical Ethic. People were studied for about 40 years (1932 - 1972) with no information about it.

Explanation:

It was a study conducted by the Public Health Service in the city of Tuskegee (Alabama). The objective was the study of the natural progression of syphilis.

The controversies regarding this study were related to the fact that it was conducted in an African American and literate population that was not informed and did not have access to treatment.