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 awareof the impacts of terrorism. These events and continued threats of terrorism haveraised questions about the impact on the psychological health of the nation andhow well the public health infrastructure is able to meet the psychological needsthat will likely result. Preparing for the Psychological Consequences of Terrorism highlightssome of the critical issues in responding to the psychological needs that resultfrom terrorism and provides possible options for intervention. The committee offersan example for a public health strategy that may serve as a base from which plansto prevent and respond to the psychological consequences of a variety of terrorismevents can be formulated. The report includes recommendations for the trainingand education of service providers, ensuring appropriate guidelines for the protectionof service providers, and developing public health surveillance for preevent,event, and postevent factors related to psychological consequences.