The Transformative Role of Authentic Partnership in the Tuskegee Public Health Ethics Program

Partnership is a much-venerated concept and is regularly applied to a broad range of human endeavors, as both a means to an end and the desired end itself. For example, to promote the public's health many programs often rely on partnerships between institutions and communities to implement interventions. Yet despite their generally positive value, partnerships are not without challenges. Unfortunately there are times when a given partnership does not advance a common good, as illustrated by the U.S Public Health Service Syphilis Study at Tuskegee, Alabama (the Syphilis Study), which lasted forty years. However, despite this tragic history, by employing the principles of authentic partnership, the relationships between the federal government, Tuskegee University, and the affected communities are experiencing transformation. By collaboratively working together these partners are able to effectively promote and support ethical public health research and practice.