Controversial studies Flashcards
Explain the Tuskegee syphilis experiment
Follow up study of impoverished African-American farmers with syphilis. Significant proportion of those in the study did not receive available treatment even though it became available halfway through the study and many people died.
What was the Belmont report?
A report on the Tuskegee syphilis experiment which introduced many changes into US law on research ethics
Explain Stanford’s prison experiment
Prisoner and guard
Simulated prison environment at Stanford University. 24 students assigned as either prisoner or guard. Within 2 days participants literally became the roles they assigned, guards acted very harshly and sometimes cruel to the prisoners. Study had to be terminated after 6 days.
Explain the tearooms study and who conducted it
This study (conducted by Humphreys) involved him hanging around ‘tearooms’ (public toilets where men meet to have sex) in order to study the population and learn more about the types of men that did it.
It was the method however that was controversial rather than the topic. He never disclosed his motives when he interview the men and instead pretended to be a ‘watchqueen’. This raised the issue of informed consent in research.
Explain Milgram’s study
Electric shock study
Milgram was interested in authority and obedience and devised a study to investigate this.
The participants were told that they were participating in research on the effects of punishment on memory. In each session, the participant was always assigned the role of the teacher while a confederate played the learner and was ultimately strapped to an electrical chair that could be controlled by the teacher in another room.
The two communicated via an intercom system. Although all participants believed the setup to be genuine, the learner would never receive any actual shocks. The participant’s job was to read to the learner a list of words and wait for him to repeat them in order. If he was incorrect or did not respond he was given a shock. Each time this occurred, the participant had to administer a fake shock that was 15 volts more intense than the last (the maximum was 450 volts). The shock machine was labelled with phrases such as Danger: Severe Shock. If a participant expressed any concern during the session, the experimenter urged him to continue by saying, for example, It is absolutely essential that you continue. But, participants were told at the beginning of the experiment that they were free to leave whenever they wished to do so. Much to the experimenters, and later, the public’s surprise 30 of the participants continued to follow the procedure and administer shocks until 450 volts was reached. Although Milgram expressed concern for the wellbeing of his participants, as some were showing extreme agitation, he decided not to terminate the study on the basis that each prior participant seemed to recover relatively well after his session ended.
Explain Rosenhan experiment
For this study, eight ‘pseudopatients’ (Professor Rosenhan himself and seven volunteers) presented themselves at institutions across the country with the same symptoms: they reported hearing voices that said, ‘thud, empty, hollow.’ All eight were admitted and diagnosed with serious mental disorders.
The pseudopatients spent between seven and 52 days in psychiatric institutions; not one hospital staff member identified the participants as fake patients, even though many other real patients did express the belief that they were undercover agents The pseudopatients eventually left all hospitals against medical advice with their diagnoses ‘in remission.’
The paper, ‘being sane in insane places’ was nothing short of explosive. Published at a time of extreme scepticism aimed at psychiatry and its institutions, it provided support for the growing anti-psychiatry movement and was used to justify a trend toward deinstitutionalisation, in which large psychiatric hospitals were shuttered in favour of community-based care centres.
Explain the declaration of Geneva
Revised version of the Hippocratic oath
Adopted by World Medical Association in 1948 in response to the atrocities committed in medical experiments in 1948. Intended to guide doctors in a post war era where the ethics of the profession had been deeply compromised
Explain the declaration of Helsinki
When was it established?
1964
developed to provide guidance around the ethics of clinical research involving human subjects. It was created amidst growing awareness and concern about the ethical implications of research. The principles outlined include issues such as informed consent, the requirement for protocols to be reviewed by an oversight committee, and the importance of the welfare of research participants.
Explain the declaration of Tokyo
Directs doctors not to partake in or condone the use of torture or cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment of prisoners or detainees.
Explain the declaration of Malta
When was it introduced?
Why did it come about?
Provides guidelines for physicians on the ethic management of hunger strikes.
1991.
Came about due to complex situations doctors found themselves in when dealing with prisoners or detainees who refused food, often as protest.
Explain the declaration of Lisbon and when it came about
Declares the rights of patients, including the right to self-determination and informed consent in healthcare decisions.
1981
Explain the declaration of Ottowa
When did it come about?
Defines essential principles for the health and wellbeing of children
Introduced in 1998
