Background
The U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Untreated Syphilis Study at Tuskegee was a study conducted between 1932 and 1972. The study was supposed to observe the natural history of untreated syphilis. As part of the study, researchers did not collect informed consent from participants. They also did not offer treatment, even after it was easily available. The study ended in 1972 on the recommendation of an Ad Hoc Advisory Panel. The panel was convened by the Assistant Secretary for Health and Scientific Affairs, following publication of news articles about the study.
In 1997, President Clinton issued a formal Presidential Apology. In his apology he announced an investment to establish what became The National Center for Bioethics in Research and Health Care at Tuskegee University. Many records can be found in the National Archives.
After the study, sweeping changes to standard research practices were made. Efforts to promote the highest ethical standards in research are ongoing today.
Subjects and participation
Tuskegee community members were aware of the study but thought it was a special government health care program1.
According to the Assistant Secretary for Health and Scientific Affairs’ Ad Hoc Advisory Panel’s published report, “…the Macon County Health Department and Tuskegee Institute were cognizant of the study.”
No women were included in the study. The study was limited to Black men 25 years of age or older. However, as a result of lack of treatment, some women contracted syphilis from men who participated in the study’s syphilitic group.
Featured stories
Family members and public health officials share their memories and reflections of the United States Public Health Service Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male at Tuskegee and Macon County, Alabama, 1932 -1972.
FAQ
Were men purposefully infected for the study?
No. According to a journal article about the study, published in 1936, the 399 men in the syphilitic group were initially recruited because they already had late-latent syphilis. The 201 men in the control group did not have the disease.
Why was the U.S. Public Health Service’s Untreated Syphilis Study at Tuskegee unethical?
There is no evidence that researchers obtained informed consent from participants. Also, the participants were not offered available treatments, even after penicillin became widely available.
You can learn more about changes made to standard research practices after Tuskegee in Research Implications.
How much money did the study participants receive from the 1974 out of court settlement?
The $10-million settlement was divided into four categories:
- Living syphilitic group participants received $37,500.
- Heirs of deceased syphilitic group participants received $15,000.
- Living control group participants received $16,000.
- Heirs of deceased control group participants received $5,0002.
50th anniversary event
This event was held Wednesday, November 30, 2022.
Watch our recorded session and related videos below.
This event acknowledged the 50th anniversary of the end of the United States Public Health Service Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male at Tuskegee and Macon County, Alabama, 1932 -1972. The intention was to create a space for authentic, accurate storytelling. It was also meant to encourage discussion regarding current and future opportunities for public health leaders to move from trust to trustworthiness.
The program examined what happened, how and why it happened, lessons learned, the noticeable effects still felt today, and CDC’s on-going role in addressing health equity.
Participants included experts in the fields of public health, ethics, history, and journalism. In addition to our speakers, we featured moderated panel discussions. The program was a hybrid event, available both virtually and in-person.
eProgram
United States Public Health Service Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male at Tuskegee and Macon County, Alabama, 1932 -1972
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Featured speakers
Xavier Becerra
United States Secretary, Health and Human Services
Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH
Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Debra Houry, MD, MPH
Acting Principal Deputy Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Robin D. Bailey Jr., MA
Chief Operating Officer, CDC
Termika Smith, Ed.D, MPA
Associate Director for Policy, Communications, and Strategy, Division of Adolescent and School Health, CDC
Moderators
Susan K. Laird, DNP, MSN
Training and Health Education Lead, Division of Communication Science and Services, CDC
Jo Valentine, MSW
Associate Director, Office of Health Equity, Division of STD Prevention, CDC
Paul Rashad Young, MD
Commander, U.S. Public Health Service and Regional Associate Director, The Americas and Kenya, Division of Global HIV & TB, Center for Global Health, CDC
Discussants
James A. Curran, MD, MPH
Dean Emeritus, Emory Rollins School of Public Health
Daniel E. Dawes, JD
Executive Director, Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine
Vanessa Northington Gamble, MD, PhD
University Professor of Medical Humanities, Professor of Medicine, Health Policy, and American Studies at the George Washington University.
Fred Gray, Esq.
President, Tuskegee Human & Civil Rights Multicultural Center
Lillie Tyson Head, MS, EdS
President, Voices for Our Fathers Legacy Foundation
Jean Heller
Author, Journalist
Robert Benjamin Johnson
Former Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of the Office of Public Liaison
James H. Jones, PhD
Author, Bad Blood
Chris Koller
President, Milbank Memorial Fund
Paul Lombardo, PhD, JD
Regents’ Professor and Bobby Lee Cook Professor of Law, Georgia State University College of Law
Mary Leinhos, PhD
Acting Team Lead, Public Health Ethics and Strategy Unit, Office of Scientific Integrity, CDC
Ted Pestorius, MPA
Deputy Director of Management and Overseas Operations, Center for Global Health, CDC
Susan Reverby, PhD
Author; Marion Butler McLean Professor Emerita in the History of Ideas and Professor Emerita in Women’s and Gender Studies, Wellesley College
Diane Rowley, MD, MPH
Professor Emerita, Maternal and Child Health Department, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
David Satcher, MD, PhD
Founding Director and Senior Advisor, Satcher Health Leadership Institute; Former Director, CDC
Dixie E. Snider Jr., MD, MPH
Former Chief Science Officer, Office of the Director, CDC
Rueben C. Warren, DDS, MPH, DrPH, MDiv
Professor/Director of the National Center for Bioethics in Research and Health Care at Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL