United+States+Public+Health+Service

 =<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: #aaaaaa; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: black; font-size: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.2em; margin-bottom: 0.1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto;">United States Public Health Service =

 __ Summary __ The **United States Public Health Service** (**PHS)** was established after the Public Health Service Act of 1944 and it serves as an overarching organization consisting of multiple agencies of health and Human Services and the Commission Corps. The central mission of the PHS is to protect the health of the country's population. [1] The agency sets standards for the domestic handling and processing of food and the manufacture of serums, vaccines, cosmetics, and drugs. It supports and performs research, aids localities in times of disaster and epidemics, and provides medical care for certain groups of Americans

__ History __ Back in the days, the PHS originated as an act to relief sick and disabled seaman in 1798 and was passed by Congress and signed into law by President John Adams. Today, its modern structure dates to the Public Health Service Act of 1944, as well as to the organization of the Federal Security Agency (FSA) by President Roosevelt in 1939 (when the PHS was moved from the Treasury Department to the FSA), and to the creation of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (DHEW) in 1953. Following a series of transfers of programs out of DHEW (environmental health in 1970, education in 1980, and social security in 1995), the modern home for the PHS was established. [2] The PHS continued a series of reorganizations beginning in 1966, which resulted in the assistant secretary for health becoming chief operations officer of the PHS in the early 1970s. During the next several decades there were organizational changes within the USPHS, but the leadership continues to rest with the assistant secretary for health. The PHS was reorganized by the secretary of Health and Human Services in 1995 once again with the operating divisions (agencies) reporting to the secretary instead of the assistant secretary for health (who now heads the Staff Office of Public Health and Science). [3]

The eight PHS operating agencies are: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease (ATSDR) Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Indian Health Service (IHS) National Institutes of Health (NIH) Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services (SAMHSA)

There are currently more than 6,100 officers on active duty. Officers are assigned to all of the PHS Agencies and to a number of agencies outside of PHS, including the Bureau of Prisons, U. S. Coast Guard, Environmental Protection Agency, Health Care Financing Administration, and the Commission on Mental Health of the District of Columbia [1]

__U.S. Public Health Service Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) Inoculation Study__ In 1932, the Public Health Service worked with the Tuskegee Institute to conduct a study to find out more about the natural history of syphilis. This is in hopes of justifying treatment programs for black people. The program was called the "Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male".[4] The study involved approximately 1500 men. Majority of them had syphilis and the remaining did not have the disease. The study was conducted without the benefit of patients' informed consent although institutional officials were aware of the study. Researchers told the men they were being treated for "bad blood," a general term that was used to describe several ailments that includes syphilis, anemia, and fatigue. In actual fact, they did not actually receive the proper treatment needed to cure their illness. In exchange for taking part in the study, the men received free medical exams and free meals. Although originally projected to last for 6 months, the study actually went on for 40 years. Later, the intention of the study shifted to looking at new ways to prevent STDs. This includes diseases like gonorrhea, chancroid and syphilis. The experiments in Guatemala ended up involving infecting female commercial sex workers with gonorrhea or syphilis, and then allowing them to have unprotected sex with soldiers or prison inmates. When the results of infections were low, the research approach changed to direct inoculation of soldiers, prisoners, and mental hospital patients. Gonorrhea was transmitted by inoculations into the urethra; chancroid by skin injection; and syphilis by a variety of means including skin injection and exposing the foreskin of the penis to infectious material. [5] The researchers indicated that they treated the vast majority of persons who contracted the various diseases. However, research suggests that some of the persons infected with syphilis were prescribed only partial treatment or not treated at all. At least one patient died during the experiments, although it is not clear whether the death was from the experiments or from an underlying medical problem. There are inadequate records to determine if the commercial sex workers were treated.

This study has been called "arguably the most infamous and unethical biomedical research study in U.S. history." The ethical violations included 1) the use of study subjects, who were members of highly vulnerable populations, 2) research without valid informed consent, and 3) deception in conducting the experiments. Correspondence between the investigators indicates that they, and their superiors, also recognized the unethical nature of the research studies. [5]

The U.S. Government has requested the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to create a committee of independent experts to conduct investigation and attempt to establish all of the facts of the study. An international group of experts has also convened to establish a set of standards and rules to ensure human medical research will be conducted ethically worldwide and such incidents will not occur again. The United States will also work with the Guatemalan Government to ensure that the respective responses to the discovery of this historical research remain transparent and unaltered.

References 1. ^[] 2. ^[] 3. ^[] 4. [|^]   Katz RV, Kegeles SS, Kressin NR, // et al. // (November 2006). [|"The Tuskegee Legacy Project: willingness of minorities to participate in biomedical research"]. // J Health Care Poor Underserved // 17 (4): 698–715. [|doi] :[|10.1353/hpu.2006.0126]. [|PMC] [|1780164]. [|PMID] [|17242525]. 5. ^ 5.^[]