The Tuskegee Study

In many situations, we look at past problems to see what kind of solutions were used and can be used for current issues that may be relevant. The past helps the development and advancement of the future. This mentality can be used in Public Health and events that have made a historical and cultural impact on worker’s right and health consent. We look at past events in order to accumulate a better understanding of present events. Analyzing and identifying these lessons from historical and cultural events help portray a better understanding of public health problems.
The Hawk’s Nest is a great example that was discussed in class on how of a historical event made an important impact on current situations, regulations, and laws. The tunnel was
The Tuskegee Study was an infamous clinical study done on African American males in the testing of untreated syphilis. The intent of the study was to record the natural history of syphilis within the Black population. The study included 600 participants who were mostly poor men and illiterate sharecroppers from the county. This study is considered to be a historical and cultural event that has impacted the world of Public Health in which it has helped bring ethical justice to individuals who are being misused and mistreated. “The advisory panel concluded that the Tuskegee Study was "ethically unjustified"--the knowledge gained was sparse when compared with the risks the study posed for its subjects” (CDC). The lessons that can be drawn from this event are the importance of having an ethical demeanor and having a procedure when conducting a study. This public health event led to the significance of informing the public and its participants on studies that are being done. This event also made a cultural impact due to the fact that the study focused on poor, African American populations. The participants were taken advantage of by being offered free meals, exams, and free burial insurance in exchange of using them for the Syphilis experiment. This study led to raise the ethical standards of any experiment. Studies are now
Past events help identify the advancement of regulations and laws that accommodate with Public Health issues. These two events seen in Public Health history made an impact for worker’s rights and the safety of participants. The Hawk’s Nest Tunnel has led to the increase regulation of laws in the safety of the people in a workplace and the compensation legislation to protect workers. The Tuskegee Study helped recognize the importance of providing informed consent and adequate treatment for a disease. The safety and the well being of the men involved were sacrificed in both of these historical events. By analyzing past events like the two discussed, we can draw significant lessons from each