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Public health 1800 to 1914
Describe the origins of public health policy from the 19th century
Public health 1800 to 1914
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An Exercise in Bioethics A study by Reverby (2011) was carried out in Guatemala on prisoners to search for STDs cure was ethically wrong. According to the article, there had been a series of studies that were carried out on prisoners at Guatemala between 1946 and 1948. The purpose of the study was to find possible cures and preventive measures to diseases like gonorrhea, syphilis and chancroid. The research was carried out by inoculating the STDs into the prisoners and trying various treatment options. The article demonstrates that the research had all the relevant medical agencies aware of all what was going on and that these medical agencies had provided their full support to John Cutler, who was the principal investigator of the public health service. The author claims that the different reports that were provided by the researchers involved in the study were contradictory and that it was very hard to understand the exact number of prisoners that were affected. Based on a report from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), 696 individuals were exposed to syphilis, 722 to gonorrhea, and 142 to chancroid. The figures that were given represented the individuals who were subjected to sexual intercourse and inoculations with STDs. From the number provided, it was found that 14 percent of those exposed to syphilis were not treated, 0.5 percent of those exposed to gonorrhea did not recover and so did 7 percent of those with choncroid (Reverby, 2011). However, the figures were still not consistent because recounting the number of individuals affected illustrated that only 678 prisoners were completely cured of these STDs. The vagueness that was derived from the reports demonstrates that the government, through its agencies was les... ... middle of paper ... ... nursing practice because they demonstrate an irresponsible and unaccountable medical practice. Although the researchers maintain that the research was meant to benefit the citizens, there were many ethical breaches coupled with professional negligence. Ethical considerations should therefore be considered at all times in all the medical professions. The nursing practice should ensure that all the activities carried out are morally and ethically appropriate to avoid a repeat of the breaches at Guatemala. Works Cited Reverby, S. M. (2011). Still “Ethically Impossible”? The Presidential Commission’s Report on the STD Inoculation Studies in Guatemala. Retrieved from http://www.thehastingscenter.org/Bioethicsforum/Post.aspx?id=5544&blogid=140 Ulmer, J. B., & Liu, M. A. (2002). Ethical Issues for Vaccines and Immunization. Nature Reviews Immunology, 2(4), 291-296.