Tuskegee and Its Syphilis Project

Tuskegee Syphilis Project In the Tuskegee case, there was a lot of information gained. Most notably, that African-Americans were affected somewhat differently by syphilis than Caucasians, especially when it came to heart problems. Other information collected included how long the people in the study lived when compared to the control group, what they died of, and what kinds of abnormalities they had on their tests. In nearly every case, it was found that African-Americans with syphilis had higher percentages of health problems than those who did not have the disease.

The study concluded from that information that African-Americans who acquired syphilis developed health problems from that disease, and suggested that those problems would not have been seen at such high rates without a syphilis diagnosis. This was similar to a study that was done in Norway, and conducted on Caucasians, both male and female, in order to determine how syphilis affected the body.

Those who made an argument for the study did so by stating that they needed to study syphilis in order to determine how it interacted with other organs and systems in the body. They could also use the blood they took from the patients in the Tuskegee study to work toward new treatments that could be used to cure people. There were already treatments available, but they were generally very brutal and they could just as easily cause death or serious health problems.

They also often took many months, and sometimes up to a year, to cure someone because of the nature of the chemicals in them. Eventually, studies like Tuskegee led to the opportunity to use penicillin and similar drugs to treat syphilis, which was a much safer and easier treatment than what was used before it -- some of which even contained arsenic. However, even though there was information that was collected, there were problems with the study that made it a poor choice.

Many ethical questions were raised by the study. PHS spent a considerable amount of time attempting to avoid these questions, because it did not want the study stopped. The physicians and the staff at the Tuskegee Institute were convinced that the study was a good choice, and that treating the men for their condition could actually harm them, because they had already been sick for so long. Additionally, there was concern that there would not be enough data if the men received treatment, and the study would not be successful.

Nurse Rivers was conflicted, but was taught to follow the orders of the doctors. She earned the trust of the men in the study, and when she was told not to treat them, she did not question that. She simply did what she was told. Whether that was ethical can be questioned, but it is important to note that none of the people who worked on the study had any training in medical ethics.

All of the people making the decisions were Caucasian, as well, and all believed in what they were doing in that they saw alleged value in the study. Today, it would not be possible for a similar type of study to be conducted. There are ethical issues that have to be considered and addressed when studies are created and developed, and they generally cannot get approval and funding if they are.