Movimentos sociales y conocimiento cientifico. El impacto del activismo contra el sida sobre las practicas cientificas
In: Psicologia politica, Heft 25, S. 69-84
ISSN: 1138-0853
Examines how organized group protests & boycotts influenced scientific practice in the research of an experimental drug (AZT) for the treatment of acquired immune deficiency syndrome in San Francisco, CA, & Miami, FL, in the late 1980s & 1990s. Leading gay rights movements in the US protested against pharmaceutical research that administered placebos to patients for the sake of control groups. The clinic boycotts & public attention forced researchers & pharmaceutical sponsors to engage more with society in general & to redesign their research procedures. Increased communication between the activists & researchers created a more tranquil & productive setting for the scientists & prompted a valuable exchange between researchers & patients. Activists in turn learned more about the scientific process involved in drug research & treatment. 19 References. Adapted from the source document.