Preparing for the Psychological Consequences of Terrorism

The Oklahoma City bombing, intentional crashing of airliners on September 11, 2001, and anthrax attacks in the fall of 2001 have made Americans acutely aware of the impacts of terrorism. These events and continued threats of terrorism have raised questions about the impact on the psychological health of the nation and how well the public health infrastructure is able to meet the psychological needs that will likely result. Preparing for the Psychological Consequences of Terrorism highlights some of the critical issues in responding to the psychological needs that result from terrorism and provides possible options for intervention. The committee offers an example for a public health strategy that may serve as a base from which plans to prevent and respond to the psychological consequences of a variety of terrorism events can be formulated. The report includes recommendations for the training and education of service providers, ensuring appropriate guidelines for the protection of service providers, and developing public health surveillance for preevent, event, and postevent factors related to psychological consequences.Table of ContentsFront MatterExecutive Summary1. Introduction: Rationale for a Public Health Response to thePsychological Consequences of Terrorism2. Understanding the Psychological Consequences of TraumaticEvents, Disasters, and Terrorism3. Current Infrastructure in the United States for Responding tothe Psychological Consequences of Terrorism4. Developing Strategies for Minimizing the PsychologicalConsequences of Terrorism Through Prevention, Intervention, andHealth Promotion5. Conclusions and Recommendations for Effective Prevention andResponseReferencesAppendix A: Data Sources and MethodsAppendix B: Committee and Staff Biographies