Research and Medicine in Haiti
Gabby, Ceniya, Stefano, Lanie, Jacob,
Claire, and Caroline
, Introduction Summary
The case “Research and Medicine Collide in Haiti” seeks to determine the ethics of using an impoverished population to
further AIDS research. Cornell Medical College runs an AIDS research clinic in Port-au-Prince, Haiti to study AIDS in cases
where only one sex partner has the disease in hopes to find a cure. Haitians are ideal research subjects due to not
receiving care that is standard in the rest of the world. In Haiti, condom use is low and antiviral drugs are unavailable
except for the very wealthy. Throughout the study, participants continue to be exposed to the virus while the clinic only
promises to provide medical help in the case the participant is unable to afford it on their own without the promise of
antiretroviral drugs. Experts agree that if this research were done in the United States, physicians would be obligated to
prescribe antiretroviral and counseling for participants. There are concerns that participants at the Haitian clinic do not
receive the same level of counseling and care as those in the United States. This study has received scrutiny from officials
in Washington due to the lack of treatment and lack of information provided by the clinic in Haiti to its participants.
Gabby, Ceniya, Stefano, Lanie, Jacob,
Claire, and Caroline
, Introduction Summary
The case “Research and Medicine Collide in Haiti” seeks to determine the ethics of using an impoverished population to
further AIDS research. Cornell Medical College runs an AIDS research clinic in Port-au-Prince, Haiti to study AIDS in cases
where only one sex partner has the disease in hopes to find a cure. Haitians are ideal research subjects due to not
receiving care that is standard in the rest of the world. In Haiti, condom use is low and antiviral drugs are unavailable
except for the very wealthy. Throughout the study, participants continue to be exposed to the virus while the clinic only
promises to provide medical help in the case the participant is unable to afford it on their own without the promise of
antiretroviral drugs. Experts agree that if this research were done in the United States, physicians would be obligated to
prescribe antiretroviral and counseling for participants. There are concerns that participants at the Haitian clinic do not
receive the same level of counseling and care as those in the United States. This study has received scrutiny from officials
in Washington due to the lack of treatment and lack of information provided by the clinic in Haiti to its participants.
