RHM 1 COURSE, SPRING 2024
Assignment 2
NAME: ———The Public Health Service Syphilis Study (1932-1971)
• The study involving 400 poor black men in rural Alabama initially
designed to study syphilis.
• The study continued to track these men until 1972 when the first
public accounts of the study appeared in the national press.
• Public was outraged.
• The study resulted in 28 deaths, 100 cases of disability, 40 wives had
been infected, and 19 cases of congenital syphilis.
• In 1973, Fred Gray filed a $1.8 billion lawsuit against the Government
• Government settled out of court for $10 million
• 1994 President Clinton formally apologized to the survivors and the
families
1. What were some of the ethical problems? (list and explain at least
8 items)
2. List & Describe the three basic principles associated with The Belmont
Report
3. If 3 out of 10 mammalian cell cultures exposed to ultraviolet (UV)
radiation developed chromosomal abnormalities while 9 out of 10
mammalian cell cultures developed chromosomal abnormalities when
exposed to UV radiation plus a common NSAID (nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug).
A) What type of study design?
B) Which parameter can determine? Calculate it.
C) Explain the results.
4. Random sample of 1141 men and 1212 women aged 25-64 y (response
rate 76%) completed a questionnaire and underwent a short
examination in a clinic. Intake of beer, wine and spirits during a typical
week, frequency of drinking, and a number of other factors were
measured by a questionnaire. The present analyses are based on 891
men and 1098 women who were either nondrinkers or ‘exclusive’ beer
drinkers (they did not drink any wine or spirits in a typical week). 500
men are beer drinkers and 325 men from this group have the obesity. 80
non-drinkers men are obese.
A. What type of study design?
B. Which parameter can determine? Calculate it.
C. Explain the results.
Obese
Not Obese
Total
Drinks Beer
Dose not drink
Beer
Total
5. A study was carried out in Taiwan: a total of 128 histologically or
cytologically confirmed cases of hepatocellular carcinoma and 384
controls without the disease were included in the study. Of the cases,
77% were carriers of the hepatitis B surface antigen (HbsAg) compared
with only 28% of the controls (Chuang et al., 1992).
A) What type of study design?
B) Which parament can determine? Calculate it.
C) Explain the results.
Outcome/exposure
HbsAG
Carcinoma
Non-carcinoma
Non-HbsAG
Total