Tuskegee Ethics Case Study

Read the overview below

When making ethical decisions, you might take into consideration the rights of the patient, national standards of care, laws, protocol, safety, organizational policy, and professional practice acts and guidelines

Case:

Read the case below and answer the questions.



From 1932–1972, the U.S. Dept. of Public Health conducted a study involving 399 black men in Tuskegee, Alabama. (An additional 201 men made up a control group.) The purpose of the study, never revealed to its subjects, was to observe the natural progression of syphilis in black males. The men involved in the study were told they were being treated for "bad blood," a local term used for a variety of ailments, including anemia, fatigue, and syphilis. When the study began, there was no treatment for syphilis, and in 1947 when penicillin was found to be an effective treatment for the disease, it was withheld from the study participants. The study ended in 1972 when a journalist discovered what was going on and exposed the study.

Put yourself in the place of a health care provider involved in the Tuskegee Study and answer the questions below.



1. If you perform this act, have you followed relevant laws and kept within your employing company's policy?
2. Will this act promote a win-win situation for as many of the involved individuals as possible?
3. How would you feel if this act were to be publicized in the newspaper or other media?
4. Would you want your family members to know?
5. If you perform this act, can you look at yourself in the mirror?