The discrimination hailing from lack of adequate access to medical care, historical segregation,

and inhumane treatment by healthcare professionals has led to increased mistrust of care services
among African Americans. For this reason, people of color have shown less interest in engaging
in matters regarding health, including health research, blood donation, cadaveric organ donation.
The negative experiences that black people have witnessed in hospitals has caused them to be
dissatisfied with the healthcare system. Most people fear that they could also be induced with
diseases that could affect them physically and mentally as it happened to the people who took
part in the Tuskegee study. The victims felt betrayed by people they believed could help them.
The research involved intentional deception to the research subjects who were induced with
syphilis and later denied treatment even after penicillin was discovered as a possible cure of the
disease in 1947. The ones injected with the illness were taken advantage of and promised only
free medical exams, hot meals, and a burial stipend. Additionally, public health officials took
advantage of black people's illiteracy and lack of knowledge. They feared that the participants
would withdraw from the research. Thus, they blocked all treatments, yet they knew if syphilis
was left untreated, it could cause heart disease, dementia, strokes, or death.
The factor of racial discrimination also contributed to the mistrust among black people, mainly
because they were the only race that participated in the study as subjects. Black people feel that
the doctors knew the disease was sexually transmitted and could affect the African American
community significantly. However, they still went ahead with their ill-mined plan. The black
community also have less faith in the government because it did not stop the Tuskegee study
immediately after it was reported to the public in 1972. The government officials took action
when the black community held demonstrations. President Bill Clinton had no choice but to
come out and condemn the study as shameful. He publicly apologized to the public. However,
the people felt like this move was not enough to redeem the government for not taking prompt
action. For this reason, today, healthcare training usually takes place before a study, as well as
engagements with researchers and health care providers. Now more research and structures need
to be realized to help people of color overcome the distrust that they hold towards the health care
system.