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HISTORICAL

PERSPECTIVE

Suzette M. Smart, BSW, MHA

HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY MISTRUST


Mistrust of the health care industry is a notable distraction for the
African American woman from obtaining appropriate and timely
medical attention. Her struggle to believe in a system that purposely
throughout history has used her to experiment devices, drugs, and

processes to prove or disapprove their research is not unfounded.


This disparity dates to the slavery era when researching physicians
believed slaves were worthy candidates for research because they
had "...anatomical features [suited for research such as] small brains,
thick skin; high tolerance for heat, sun and pain" (Williams &
Johnson, 2002).

Professor of Law Dr. Vernellia R. Randall (1996) asserts "The


advances in medicine [during the nineteenth century] were
legion" (Randall, 1996). Unfortunately, during this time period,
and possibly continuing through current society, these rapid
advances have been at the detriment of the health, and
sometimes death of the poor and African American. Unethical
research has been the impediment to fair treatment of the
African American population. Noteworthy through documented
unethical research studies of this population is that of the
Tuskegee syphilis study, carried out between 1932 and 1972
(Thomas & Quinn, 1991).

However, through folklore told through generations of the


Black community, the continued mistrust surfaces often of other
untold stories of how their ancestors were wrongly, and
immorally mishandled (Randall, 1996). Unfortunately, from the
slavery era through the authenticated administration of
experimental vaccines with U.S. soldiers in 1990, health care
industry personnel who are not familiar with these unscrupulous
projects stand miles apart from wholly understanding how the
African American approaches the system.

Dr. Randall concludes that "Understanding the extent of


the experimentation is important for understanding the basis of
the distrust of African Americans" (Randall, 1996). Randall, in
her research documented in the Basis of Distrust (2010),
outlines the following experimental injustices using African
Americans throughout history as the research subjects:
Dr. McDowell practiced on slaves during the 1800s a
perilous surgery of removing ovarian tumors.
The smallpox vaccine was administered to hundreds of
slaves, including two hundred slaves of Thomas Jefferson
to test its effectiveness, and safety (Randall, 2010).

The general anesthetic ether, was tested by physician


Crawford Long, one of the first physicians to test this agent
on a large proportion of slaves.
Dr. Thomas Hamilton, placed slaves in an open-pit oven with
only their heads upon ground, to test the determination of
which medicines would allow a persons body to endure high
temperatures.

Dr. Walter F. Jones tested a potential cure for typhoid


pneumonia by pouring five gallons of boiling water on
the spinal column of slaves (Randall, 2010).
There was suspicion by slaves that they were left to die, or
were actually murdered in order for physicians to use their
bodies for continued educational purposes through
dissection. In addition, although never confirmed, the bodies
of slaves were also exumed for medical schools (Randall,
2010).

Dr. Alexander Somervail, a Black physician, tested his


theory of how to relieve the inability to urinate on African
American patients.
Although Dr. Robert Jennings was ascribed for his
significant role in developing the typhoid infection vaccine,
it was at the wellbeing of his experimentation using free
Blacks, and slaves.
Dr. P.C. Spencer experimented on slaves his new, yet quite
painful surgical technique to relieve the effects of
excruciating pain from bladder stones.

Although Dr. Marion Sims is portrayed as a historic icon in


gynecological surgery, he purposely addicted Black women
to drugs after surgery in order to restrain them after
performing repetitively on these women the same surgery to
perfect his surgical techniques.

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