1) Could this type of research be conducted today? Why or why not? 2.) What should the public have done, since they knew about the study? 3.) In your opinion, how should the data be used that is obtained from an unethical experiment and how can we prevent this from happening again? 4.) Discuss the code of ethics as it relates to this study? 5.) What are your personal thoughts on the ethical standards exhibited through this study?
The Tuskegee Syphilis Research Study Any research like the Tuskegee Syphilis Research Study could not be conducted today. There are many reasons as to why this type of research study cannot be conducted today. One reason is because people of all races are more aware of diseases that today’s society has now than they were back then. Also, people now day’s want to be treated for the disease(s) that they have whether than be experimented with. People in today’s society are also more aware of the researches that are taking place to not allow this type of study to be conducted. In my opinion, the public should have not allowed this type of research to be conducted. In the research study on page 264 in our textbook (MLE Fourth edition) it states “ the public was outraged that poor black men had been subjected to a research project without their consent and denied treatment for a treatable disease in an attempt to gain what was seen as useless information”.
The public in this research did not know anything about this research until the 1960s when a researcher working for the U.S. Public Health Service tried to have the project ended but when that was unsuccessful. He then notified the press and ultimately the project was stopped. This let the public be aware of the research being conducted. I think that the data that was collected should be used to treat those that develop syphilis in the future. The data could be used to see what researches could do differently in their next research. I think that in order for this type of experiment not to happen again we, as the public, should step up to the researchers that are wanting to perform this type of experiment and tell them that it is unethical and should not be performed on the human race.
Today there are many more laws and steps to take in order to conduct a study with human subjects and the Tuskegee Syphilis Study would never be approved in today's society due to the many violations to human rights that this study would incur. The study would still violate the Henderson Act as well as the Declaration of Helsinki and in addition would violate several other newly developed guidelines. The National Organization for Human Services has created a set of standards that human service workers should abide by. A human service worker has a responsibility to treat their clients with respect and dignity as well as looking out for their safety (NOHS, 2005).
A human service worker has an obligation to avoid any type of treatment or experiment that would put the client in harm's way. The American Counseling Association has also developed a Code of Ethics that all counselors are bound to follow to uphold the integrity of the profession. The Code of Ethics has a specific area devoted solely to research and how procedures should be handled. First and foremost, researchers should follow all federal, state, and local laws pertaining to research with human subjects (ACA, 2005). The Code of Ethics also explains that researchers are responsible for the well being of their subjects and they should take special precautions to avoid harm in any way, including physical, emotional, social, or psychological (ACA, 2005).
Informed consent is also an absolute must in order to properly conduct an experiment (ACA, 2005). Each subject needs to know what the study is about and how it may affect him or her both positively and negatively. Finally, the Code of Ethics clearly states that there should be no deception within the study (ACA, 2005). Deception was a huge part of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. The subjects in the study were completely unaware of what the study was actually doing and how it was affecting them or not affecting them since they were left to die without treatment (Thomas & Quinn, 1991). (Yahoo answer) My personal thoughts go out to the families that lost their loved ones back then due to the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. I personally think that this study should have never been conducted. I think that the people that were involved in this study should have at least been aware of what was going on. Also I think that the public should have been told about the study that was taking place when it first began not after it had been taking place for years prior to knowing.
