Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment: Medical Practice Ethics
Content:
1. Case/Issue Summary
Overview of the history, the background, and the details of the case/Issue
• List of the insufficient details about the case/Issue and the assumptions the student has to make because of the missing information
• Identification of the issue(s) involved
• Stakeholder identification and discussion
• Identify all people/parties involved, including those not specifically mentioned in the case/issue
• List the concerns all stakeholders face or might have
2. Identification and Evaluation of all Main Possible Solutions
• List of all main possible solutions. For each resolution under consideration, students should include:
• List of the significant possible consequences
• List of the ways the particular solution is likely to positively or negatively affect every stakeholder
• List of the ethical principles upheld or violated by the solution, including a brief explanation
• Evaluate each main solution and its outcomes, likely impact, and the values upheld and violated by it. Compare the possible solutions to each other and weigh them.
• Are some possible consequences of some possible solutions more important than others? Why?
• Are some possible consequences of some possible solutions more likely to occur than others? Why?
• Does one solution uphold or violate certain values in more or less important ways than another? Why?
• Why is one possible solution better or worse than another?
• If all main solutions are unsatisfactory, has the team searched for other possibilities or variations that have not been considered before?
3. Decision Statement and Defense Against Weaknesses
• State which solution is the best and why
• Make clear why the team rejected the other possible solutions
• Clarify the details of the chosen resolution and justify it
• Recommend plan of action - exactly how the decision will be carried out
• Defend the decision against objections to its main weaknesses
• State the main weaknesses of the selected decision. Why might someone object the decision?
• What are the best answers to these weaknesses? Explain why the team still considers their decision is the best.
Ethics
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Abstract
Informed consent is considered important in medical practice and research ethics. The case of the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male is one of the most cited cases of human experimentation where there was no informed consent of the patients who suffered the negative effects of syphilis infection. In the research ethics paradigm, integrating ethical policies is important so that all the participants understand the risks and benefits of their participation. The ethical policies guide the research process to ensure all parties respect informed consent, potentially reducing and eliminating ethical violations.
Introduction
Ethical consent and other keep ethical protections are now prioritized in medical research. This was not always the case when there were no legal protections for study participants and respondents in the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis were not informed about the risks of their participation. In the past, patients were not informed about diagnosis, and then there was acceptance that legal protections were necessary and now informed consent is part of sound medical practice. Legal protections and informed consent are ethical considerations to ensure there is no harm to patients and study participants, who make informed decisions without coercion.
Ethics
1932 saw the saw the start of an inhuman experiment, which would later on see the death of all the 600 men that were participants in the study. Working together with the Tuskegee Institute, Public Health Service and under the guidance of the Dr. John Charles Cutler, the research was initiated to record the natural history of Syphilis. This was, accordi...