The Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis: A Case Study in Peripheral Trauma with Implications for Health Professionals

Abstract

Racially or ethnically targeted events may have adverse health implications for members of the group not directly targeted, a phenomenon known as peripheral trauma. Recent evidence suggests that mass incarceration, police brutality, and immigration actions all have such effects, as did medical exploitation by the US government during the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male. We summarize recent findings in the economics literature on population-level effects of the Tuskegee study, including a decline in health-seeking behavior and a rise of both mortality and medical mistrust among African-American men not enrolled in the study. We highlight the relevance of our findings for present-day racial health disparities. Practitioner awareness of peripheral trauma is an important element of cultural competency. But among options to substantially improve minority trust in the healthcare system, the diversification of medical practitioners may hold greatest promise.