Compressed Mortality: APHA Principles for a Public Health Response to Terrorism

In order to prevent future acts of terrorism and their adverse public health consequences, the public health community should support policies and programs that:

1. Address poverty, social injustice and health disparities that may contribute to the development of terrorism;

2. Provide humanitarian assistance to, and protect the human rights of, the civilian populations of all nations that are directly or indirectly affected by terrorism;

3. Advocate the speedy end of the armed conflict in Afghanistan and promote nonviolent means of conflict resolution;

4. Strengthen the public health infrastructure (which includes workforce, laboratory and information systems) and other components of the public health system (including education, research, and the faith community) to increase the ability to identify, respond to, and prevent problems of public health importance, including the health aspects of terrorist attacks;

5. Ensure availability of, and accessibility to, health care, including medications and vaccines, for individuals exposed, infected, made ill, or injured in terrorist attacks;

6. Educate and inform health professionals and the public to better identify, respond to, and prevent the health consequences of terrorism, and promote the visibility and availability of health professionals in the communities that they serve;

7. Address mental health needs of populations that are directly or indirectly affected by terrorism;

8. Assure the protection of the environment, the food and water supply, and the health and safety of rescue and recovery workers;

9. Assure clarification of the roles, relationships and responsibilities among public health agencies, law enforcement and first responders;

10. Prevent hate crimes, ethnic, racial, and religious discrimination, including profiling; promote cultural competence, diversity training, and dialogue among peoples; and protect human rights and civil liberties;

11. Advocate the immediate control and ultimate elimination of biologic, chemical, and nuclear weapons; and

12. Building and sustain the public health capacity to develop systems to collect data about the health and mental health consequences of terrorism and other disasters on victims, responders, and communities, and develop uniform definitions and a standardized data classification system of death and injury resulting from terrorism and other disasters.

Compressed Mortality File: Supporting Reference Material