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Q. Where was the study conducted?
A. The study was conducted in Macon County, Alabama, where
Tuskegee is the county seat.
Q. How many men participated in the study?
A. Early in the study, 399 men with late latent syphilis,
and 201 men without syphilis were initially enrolled. As the study
evolved, additional participants were added, so the number of men in the
study varies according to the source.
Q. Were the men purposely infected with the disease?
A. No, 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.
Q. Was the Tuskegee community aware of the study?
A. Yes, local African American and white physicians were
recruited not to treat the men. Autopsy and physician assessments were
done at local hospitals. A number of Tuskegee University (formerly know
as Tuskegee Institute) faculty and staff were involved in the study.
Q. When did the U.S. Public Health Service Syphilis Study
at Tuskegee become unethical?
A. In the mid-1940s when penicillin became the treatment of
choice for the treatment of syphilis and readily available.
Q. How did revelations about the study change the way we
conduct Public Health Research today?
A. Federally supported studies using human subjects must be
reviewed by Institutional Review Boards. Regulations governing
confidentiality were also developed. Researchers now must get voluntary
informed consent from all persons taking part in studies. See
Research Implications
for more information.
Q. Were women involved in the study?
A. The study was limited to Black men 25 years of age or
older. Some women contracted syphilis from their husbands who
participated in the study’s syphilitic group.
Q. Where can I find a list of the names of the study
participants?
A. National Archives, Southeastern Region, maintains a list of
Tuskegee Patient Medical Files.
Q. Where can I find photos related to the study?
A.
National Archives Southeastern Region
Q. Are any of the study participants alive today?
A. The last study participant, Mr. Ernest L. Hendon, died in
January 2004.
Q. How much money did the
study participants receive from the 1974
out of court settlement?
A. The $10-million
settlement was divided into four
categories:
1) Living syphilitic group participants
received $37,500.
2) Heirs of deceased syphilitic group
participants received $15,000.
3) Living control group participants
received $16,000.
4) Heirs of deceased control group
participants received $5,000.
Q. What benefits do the study participants’ wives,
ex-wives, widows, and offspring receive?
A. Infected wives, ex-wives, widows, and offspring receive
lifetime medical and health benefits.
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