The Tuskegee Experiment was held in Tuskegee, Alabama during 1932-1972. The US Public Health Service conducted this experiment, which is the most notorious example of unethical research practices. Participants in the experiment were deceived into believing they were receiving free treatment for syphilis. However, in reality, they received a lethal injection, resulting in 28 of the 399 participants dying from syphilis, 100 from related medical complications, and 40 of the participants’ wives and 19 children becoming infected during the experiment (“The deadly deception,” 2021). Although penicillin was a cure for syphilis since 1947, the participants were forbidden from taking the drug to continue the experiment. The scientists aimed to test how the disease would develop at different stages by conducting experimental treatments on the participants.
Surprisingly, there are still opinions today that the experiment was misunderstood and that the end of the research justified the means. This attitude towards human life is monstrous and comparable to genocide or experiments on people in concentration camps during World War II. After the general public learned about the experiment, the National Human Investigation Board and institutional review boards (IRBs) were created. Modern thinking and ethical standards strictly prohibit misleading experimental participants about its goals (Polit & Beck, 2018). In particular, the practice of full disclosure is the most acceptable way to invite participation.
Covert data collection involves gathering information without notifying participants. Another controversial data collection technique is deception: this method can be used, for example, in determining the extent of internal processes of some illegal practices, such as drug use. Modern ethical principles protect the rights of participants, including the right to freedom from harm and discomfort, the right to protection from exploitation, the right to self-determination, and the right to full disclosure. Compliance with these rules is inevitable in the modern world and they must be respected under any circumstances.
References
Polit, D., & Beck, C. (2018). Essentials of nursing research. Wolters Kluwer.
The deadly deception. (2021). [Video file]. Web.