The Tuskegee Syphilis Study compelled the nation to reconsider and reinterpret human testing procedures, particularly those affecting minority communities. As a result, HEW formed a National Human Investigation Board, and legislation requiring the formation of Institutional Review Boards was approved. A class action suit brought on behalf of the survivors in the 1970s resulted in no new law and skirted the question of government liability for harm caused by such an experiment. Eventually, each survivor got a financial compensation of around $40,000.00 (Alsan et al., 2020). The Tuskegee Syphilis Study’s greatest lasting impact is its ramifications in the African American community, which have implications in light of the AIDS pandemic.
The study provided the groundwork for African Americans’ persistent skepticism of the medical establishment, particularly public health initiatives and immunizations. It fostered negative attitudes about the medical system and the federal government, as well as a disrespect for African American life. Despite community outreach efforts, there appears to be evidence that African Americans did not seek treatment for AIDS in the early 1980s due to skepticism of healthcare practitioners over the diagnosis, forecast, and treatments of AIDS. Government leaders and medical professionals must work to rid medicine of social contamination by removing any racial or moral prejudices about individuals or their ailments.
The Tuskegee Study, as a symbol of racism and medical malpractice, may never inspire the nation to action, but it may influence the way Americans approach sickness. Within the outpouring of rage and pain from those who oppose the experiment is a cry for government and medical experts to listen to the anxieties of people whose faith has been shattered, to address their concerns directly, and to recognize the relationship between public health and community trust (White, 2019). It thus demonstrates that social prejudices and institutional mistrust are deep-running societal problems that cannot be overridden without systemic structural work.
Reference List
Alsan, M., Wanamaker, M., & Hardeman, R. R. (2020). The Tuskegee study of untreated syphilis: A case study in peripheral trauma with implications for health professionals. Journal of general internal medicine, 35(1), 322-325., Web.
White, R. M. (2019). Driving Miss Evers’ boys to the historical Tuskegee study of untreated syphilis. Journal of the National Medical Association, 111(4), 371-382., Web.