The Public Health Service worked in collaboration with the Tuskegee Institute in 1932, in the attempt to provide treatment programs for African-American Males who acquired Syphilis. Although this premise was promising, it would later be discovered that instead, this program was rather immoral and unethical. This study included 600 African-American males: 399 of which had been diagnosed with syphilis, and 201 who did not have a diagnosis of this disease. This study lasted for a duration of 40 years when it was supposed to only occur for 6 months and the participants were told they would receive free medical exams, meals, as well as burial insurance in exchange for their participation in the study. In 1972, a panel was sent to review the study where it was discovered the men were not informed of the study, its purpose, and were misled thus, these men were not provided informed consent. The men were also not given adequate treatment for their disease, at the time penicillin was the gold standard for syphilis treatment and was not offered to these participants. To make matters worse the participants were never given the choice to leave the study. In 1974 the Tuskegee Health Benefit Program was established to provide a 10 million dollar settlement that would promise lifetime medical benefits and burial services to all living participants of the study. This would later include wives, widows, and their children as well as health and medical benefits.
This study highlighted the importance of informed consent provided to participants involved in research studies. A participant should be well informed in regard to the risks associated with the study, the purpose of the study, and what their involvement in the study entails. Additionally, participants should also be allowed to leave a study at any time. As the risks may outweigh their willingness to cooperate which is justifiable to any participant. Expanding upon this, the risks for injury should be minimal in both the probability and of magnitude. Thus, any study should not be conducted if there is of great risk to physical, psychological, social, or economic harm. With insights from historically significant studies which were deemed to not be ethical, individuals can utilize this information to better their ethical involvement in research. Ensuring informed consent is signed, assessing the participant’s knowledge of the study, as well as being informed of the study and new evidence/information being published which pertains to the study you are participating within.
