Deck 8: Racism and Research: the Case of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study

Question 1

Brandt argues that ________ was at the heart of the study.

A) sexism
B) an overly optimistic faith in modern medicine
C) homophobia
D) racism

Answer 1

E

Question 2

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study was carried out

A) over a forty-year period, from the 1930s into the 1970s.
B) in several poor countries in Africa and Southeast Asia.
C) by private doctors and pharmaceutical companies.
D) with the full understanding by all the research subjects participating in the project that it had potential risks as well as benefits.
E) All of these are features of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study was, for the control group, a study of

A) the long-term effects of untreated syphilis.
B) the effectiveness of penicillin in the treatment of syphilis.
C) medical practices that could save money and still be effective.
D) deviant behavior.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The most problematic aspect of the study, according to Brandt, was that the participants

A) did not have health insurance and so many of them lost their homes and life savings.
B) were not only given the impression that they were receiving effective treatment, but were systematically prevented from receiving proper treatment.
C) provided inaccurate and sometimes dishonest information about their medical history and conditions.
D) accepted the money for medical treatment but used it for other purposes, such as home repairs and recreation.

Question 5

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study was an attempt to

A) prevent the transmission of syphilis among college-age women.
B) find out the long-term effects of syphilis when it is left untreated.
C) develop ethical guidelines for doing research on animals.
D) show that men and women need different types of medical treatment.

Question 6

The medical and scientific community seemed to maintain what attitude with respect to the study's subjects and their (ill) health?

A) a humanitarian and compassionate morality
B) a version of Darwinian evolutionism
C) a belief that medical practitioners must make decisions about who will receive care and who won't
D) a belief that all problems can be solved with technology