The Tuskegee Syphilis Study, 1932 to 1972: implications for HIV education and AIDS risk education programs in the black community.
S B Thomas and
S C Quinn
Department of Health Education, University of Maryland, College Park 20742.
The Tuskegee study of untreated syphilis in the Negro male isthe longest nontherapeutic experiment on human beings in medicalhistory. The strategies used to recruit and retain participantswere quite similar to those being advocated for HIV/AIDS preventionprograms today. Almost 60 years after the study began, thereremains a trail of distrust and suspicion that hampers HIV educationefforts in Black communities. The AIDS epidemic has exposedthe Tuskegee study as a historical marker for the legitimatediscontent of Blacks with the public health system. The beliefthat AIDS is a form of genocide is rooted in a social contextin which Black Americans, faced with persistent inequality,believe in conspiracy theories about Whites against Blacks.These theories range from the belief that the government promotesdrug abuse in Black communities to the belief that HIV is amanmade weapon of racial warfare. An open and honest discussionof the Tuskegee Syphilis Study can facilitate the process ofrebuilding trust between the Black community and public healthauthorities. This dialogue can contribute to the developmentof HIV education programs that are scientifically sound, culturallysensitive, and ethnically acceptable.
Related articles in AJPH:
History, ethics, and politics in AIDS prevention research.
D C Des Jarlais and B Stepherson
AJPH 1991 81: 1393-1394.
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