Tuskegee syphilis study

E351984

The Tuskegee syphilis study was a notorious, decades-long U.S. Public Health Service experiment in which Black men with syphilis were misled and denied effective treatment, becoming a landmark example of unethical medical research.

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Predicate Object
instanceOf clinical study
medical experiment
public health study
research ethics case
alsoKnownAs Tuskegee syphilis study
surface form: Tuskegee Experiment

Tuskegee syphilis study
surface form: Tuskegee Study
apologyBy Bill Clinton
surface form: President Bill Clinton
apologyDate 1997
apologyLocation White House
apologyTo survivors and families of participants
benefitsPromisedToParticipants burial insurance
free medical exams
meals
conductedBy Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predecessor
Public Health Service
surface form: United States Public Health Service
consequence creation of National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research
development of the Belmont Report
establishment of Institutional Review Boards in the United States
long-term mistrust of medical institutions among African Americans
strengthening of informed consent requirements
continuedAfterStandardTreatmentAvailable true
country United States of America
surface form: United States
discoveredBy Peter Buxtun
duration 40 years
endTime 1972
ethicalStatus deceptive
non-consensual
racist
unethical
exposedIn 1972
field bioethics
epidemiology
public health
focus natural history of untreated syphilis
hasEffectOn African American attitudes toward medical research
U.S. research ethics regulations
inceptionPurpose to study progression of untreated syphilis
location Macon County, Alabama NERFINISHED
Tuskegee, Alabama, United States
surface form: Tuskegee, Alabama
mainSubject syphilis
untreated syphilis
method observational study
notableFor deception of participants
exploitation of Black men
lack of informed consent
withholding effective treatment
numberOfCases approximately 399 men with syphilis
numberOfControls approximately 201 men without syphilis
numberOfParticipants approximately 600 men
originalName Tuskegee syphilis study self-linksurface differs
surface form: Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male
oversightStatus lacked proper ethical review
participantGroup African American men
Black sharecroppers
participantsInformedOfDiagnosis false
participantsToldTheyHad “bad blood”
reportedBy Associated Press
Jean Heller
standardTreatmentAvailableBy mid-1940s
startTime 1932
terminatedBy Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
surface form: United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
terminationReason public outcry over ethical violations
treatmentBecameStandardOfCare penicillin
treatmentWithheld penicillins
surface form: penicillin

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Referenced by (8)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Tuskegee, Alabama, United States knownFor Tuskegee syphilis study
subject surface form: Tuskegee, Alabama
Tuskegee, Alabama, United States significantEvent Tuskegee syphilis study
subject surface form: Tuskegee, Alabama
this entity surface form: Tuskegee syphilis experiment (1932–1972)
Macon County hasSignificantEvent Tuskegee syphilis study
subject surface form: Macon County, Alabama
Fred Gray notableWork Tuskegee syphilis study
this entity surface form: Tuskegee syphilis study settlement negotiations
Isaiah Bradley basedOn Tuskegee syphilis study
this entity surface form: Tuskegee syphilis study (thematic inspiration)
Tuskegee syphilis study originalName Tuskegee syphilis study self-linksurface differs
this entity surface form: Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male
Tuskegee syphilis study alsoKnownAs Tuskegee syphilis study
this entity surface form: Tuskegee Study
Tuskegee syphilis study alsoKnownAs Tuskegee syphilis study
this entity surface form: Tuskegee Experiment