AJPH
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Purchase Article
Right arrow View Shopping Cart
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Fiset, L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Fiset, L.
Related Collections
Right arrow Health Care Facilities/Services
Right arrow History
Right arrow Public Health Practice
Right arrow Public Health Workers
Right arrow Other Race/Ethnicity
October 2003, Vol 93, No. 10 | American Journal of Public Health 1644-1654
© 2003 American Public Health Association

PUBLIC HEALTH THEN AND NOW

Medical Care for Interned Enemy Aliens: A Role for the US Public Health Service in World War II

Louis Fiset, DDS, BA

The author is with the University of Washington School of Dentistry, Seattle.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Louis Fiset, DDS, 7554 Brooklyn Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115-4302 (e-mail: fiset{at}u.washington.edu).

During World War II, the US Public Health Service (USPHS) administered health care to 19 000 enemy aliens and Axis merchant seamen interned by the Justice Department through its branch, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).

The Geneva Prisoners of War Convention of 1929, which the United States applied to civilian internees, provided guidelines for belligerent nations regarding humanitarian treatment of prisoners of war, including for their health. The INS forged an agreement with the USPHS to meet these guidelines for the German, Italian, and Japanese internees and, in some cases, their families. Chronic shortages and crowded camps continuously challenged USPHS administrators.

Nevertheless, the USPHS offered universal access to care and provided treatment often exceeding care received by many American citizens.






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2003 by the American Public Health Association