ABSTRACT
The selections in this part of the book, together with several others in Parts I and II, illustrate how disease patterns and health outcomes vary among socioeconomic and ethnic groups. The next three selections focus explicitly on race and racism as factors affecting health. The first of these analyzes the infamous Tuskegee syphilis study and its historical and social context. On a positive note, revelations about the study brought attention to the presence of racism in medical research and led to the creation of rules guiding the conduct of research and clinical practice. However, as Gamble argues, to view the study as a single, closed event is to explain away certain fears and health-related behaviors of African Americans and to miss the larger historical and socioeconomic context that provided the backdrop for the study and that continues to influence people’s attitudes about and interactions with health professionals.
