Willowbrook: A Study of Infectious Disease & Mental Health - Report Sample

Introduction

The experiments of Willowbrook have been based on studies of history and the prevention of infectious diseases. There have been many cases of children getting infected due to the living conditions in the country. The most affected children were those with mental problems and seeking help from state institutions. Due to these viral infections, the Department of Pediatrics identified Willow Brook Stated School to be the research site. Since the outbreak of infectious disease, many types of research have been conducted trying to find prevention measures and medication for hepatitis disease. Medical studies were conducted in orphanages, military barracks, and institutions for mentally disturbed children; therefore, there are research ethics that guide how the reviews are to be undertaken without infringing on children's rights, honesty, and personal privacy.

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Tuskegee Syphilis Study

The Tuskegee Syphilis study was initiated in August 1972 to research the issues and aspects related to untreated syphilis by the Public Health Service. The study was based on the Ad Hoc Advisory Panel on the terms and conditions that will guide the termination or the continuity of the study without affecting the participants with syphilis. Previously, the target subjects were infected with syphilis for research on the medication and control of syphilis. The previous shows that the subjects were not informed of the implications of the study and yet those infected were not treated during and after the Research. It is reported that syphilis causes disability and premature mortality in the patients. The primary purpose of the study was to see what would happen to the infected patients if left untreated and also to find out if there were differences in immunity in terms of race. Even after Penicillin was identified to treat syphilis, the patients were left untreated.

Research methodologies used in the studies

Willowbrook Hepatitis Experiments

The study methodology applied in the Willowbrook Experiment, the groups of children involved were divided into two due to the separate studies conducted. The researcher Dr. Krugman induced globulin antibodies taken from the hepatitis patients who were previously vaccinated in the first group of the children who were admitted to the facility. The second group of children, who were the newly admitted patients were allowed to have the antibodies injected into them. Through this, Krugmann was in apposition to study the effects of hepatitis B on the children based on the presence of antibodies given to them.

Tuskegee Syphilis Study

The research methodology used in Tuskegee syphilis involved sampling techniques and controlled tests. The target population was the African American males 439 infected with syphilis and 185 and controls. The researchers had the nurses keep track of the patients. The patients were kept out of the records of World War II because they would be given treatment by the government if found out, and their whereabouts were always followed wherever they were in the country. The patients were supposed to be left untreated even after Penicillin was discovered to reduce the effects of syphilis.

Ethical Problems in the Studies

Tuskegee Syphilis Study

Informed consent

There were no benefits of participant consent, whereby the participants were not aware of the implications of the study to their health. The researchers did not conform to honest and transparent ethics. They lied to the participants that they were being treated for bad blood.

Denial of healthcare

Research violated the ethics of health care and the cure of the clinic. The participants were not given health insurance to cover their hospital bills; thus, they could get access to medical services. Also, their health benefits were deliberately cut off, leaving the participants to believe in the study of free treatment. From the ad hoc panel report, it is reported that the participants were not given proper treatment for the disease, and thus ended up developing disability complications and premature mortality.

The participants were not given a choice to withdraw from the study; thus, they were stuck in the class while their health deteriorated.

Willowbrook Hepatitis Experiments

Patient safety

The study did not protect the participant's safety when they were subjected to the hepatitis disease. The participants were induced with the infectious disease and measured out in laced for control. Although the researchers sought the consent of the children's parents, the danger was severe because the children in question were developmentally disabled. The parents were not aware of the health risks of the study in their disabled kids.

Patient's rights

The research violated the ethical issues by involving children with mental health problems. The researchers do know that those children need medical help with their health condition, yet they chose to use the kids as medical experiment subjects by inducing hepatitis in them. The act violated the patient's rights to treatment and assessed to medical care.

Safe environment

The research was conducted in an environment where there was no sanitary safe, and conducive. The place was crowded, and the children could soil themselves and fight. There were not enough beds to accommodate the children; thus, they had to join the beds to accommodate all of them. Also, the crowded environment made it easy for the contagious virus to spread among the children.

Biomedical Ethical Principles proposed in the Belmont Report and its application in Research

Respect for Persons

The principle of respect for people holds that the participants of the study should be treated as "autonomous agents" and those with degrading autonomy should be protected. Therefore the principle protects the health of human involvement in the research and demands for ultimate respect for the individual despite their health issues, race, color, and cultural ethics. Showing respect to the participants is by considering the opinions and suggestions of the participants while restraining from activities that obstruct their normal lifestyle unless it affects the objectives of the study.

Beneficence

The study subjects are supposed to be told and explained clearly about the risks of the study and the benefits of treatment they agree to undergo during the survey. The course should not harm the participants and should utilize the possible services to their maximum and reduce the harm projected.

Principle of justice

Societal justice says that individuals must be reasonably selected according to race, religion, culture, age, and sexual orientation. It states that all the participants should have the same benefits and that the individual will be granted or denied a benefit with a good reason based on the minimum acceptable standards of the research requirements and objectives.

Application of the Principles

Informed consent

Informed consent means the researchers should fully inform the participants before the study on the implications and benefits of the test so that they are fully aware of what they expect. Respecting the people, therefore, is by fully informed about the study so that they can decide whether to participate or to quit.

Assessment of Risks and Benefits

The researchers should assess the possible risks and benefits of the study before actually examining the relevant data. Benefits refer to certain features or characteristics that will come with the study in terms of the individual's health care during the research period. Risks refer to the dangers that might be associated with health issues during the study, including treatment measures. Therefore research risks and benefits can directly or indirectly affect the participants' health, their family members, and their community.

Selection of Subjects

The research participants must be selected equally according to race, gender, color, and cultural ethics, just like the principle of justice that requires the researchers to consider fairness in the selection of the sample. It is appropriate when the researchers selected the sample for a social perspective, including adults, children, males, and females, to show social justice.

References

Beecher, H. K. (1976). undefined. Biomedical Ethics and the Law, 193-205. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-2223-8_15KRUGMAN, S. (1971). Experiments at the Willowbrook State School. The Lancet, 297(7706), 966-967. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(71)91462-0

Mechanic, D. (1978). Ethical problems in the delivery of health services: A report to the National Commission for the protection of human subjects of biomedical and behavioral research. PsycEXTRA Dataset. https://doi.org/10.1037/e378552004-001Research implications. (2020, March 2). https://www.cdc.gov/tuskegee/after.htm

Reverby, S. M. (2011). "Normal exposure" and inoculation syphilis: A PHS "Tuskegee" doctor in Guatemala, 1946–1948. Journal of Policy History, 23(1), 6-28. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0898030610000291undefined. (2017). The Willowbrook Wars, 322-352. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315135441-18

US Department of Health Education and Welfare of Public Health. (n.d.). FINAL REPORT of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study Ad Hoc Advisory Panel. USF Research & Innovation | University of South Florida. https://www.research.usf.edu/dric/hrpp/foundations-course/docs/finalreport-tuskegeestudyadvisorypanel.pdf

What principles of the Belmont Report were violated in the Tuskegee syphilis study? (n.d.). CliffsNotes Study Guides | Book Summaries, Test Preparation & Homework Help | Written by Teachers. https://www.cliffsnotes.com/cliffsnotes/subjects/history/what-principles-of-the-belmont-report-were-violated-in-the-tuskegee-syphilis-study