scholarly journals Victims of the Terrorist Attacks in Belgium and Professional Mental Health Aid Barriers: A Qualitative Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roel Van Overmeire ◽  
Emilie Muysewinkel ◽  
Rose-Lima Van Keer ◽  
Lara Vesentini ◽  
Johan Bilsen
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Terrorist Attack ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Stress Reactions ◽  
Financial Barriers ◽  
Social Barriers ◽  
Health Aid ◽  
Initial Event ◽  
Professional Mental Health

Introduction: Terrorist attacks can cause short and long-term stress-reactions, anxiety, and depression among those exposed. Sometimes, professional mental health aid, meaning all types of professional psychotherapy, would be appropriate, but victims often delay or never access mental health aid, even up to a decade after the initial event. Little is known about the barriers terrorist-victims encounter when they try to access professional mental health aid.Method: Using a qualitative design, 27 people exposed to the 22/03/2016 terrorist attack in Belgium were interviewed using half-structured, in-depth interviews, on their experiences with professional mental health aid. A reflexive thematic analysis was employed.Results: Five main barriers for professional mental health aid seeking by victims were found. First, their perception of a lack of expertise of mental health aid professionals. Second, the lack of incentives to overcome their uncertainty to contact a professional. Third, social barriers: people did not feel supported by their social network, feared stigma, or trusted that the support of their social network would be enough to get them through any difficulties. Fourth, a lack of mental health literacy, which seems to be needed to recognize the mental health issues they are facing. Finally, there are financial barriers. The cost of therapy is often too high to begin or continue therapy.Conclusions: This study showed that the barriers for seeking professional mental health aid are diverse and not easily overcome. More mental health promotion is needed, so that there is a societal awareness of possible consequences of being exposed to terrorist attacks, which might result in less stigma, and a quicker realization of possible harmful stress reactions due to a disaster.

scholarly journals Workshop: Terrorist attacks and aftercare

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Terrorist Attack ◽  
Traumatic Events ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Public Health Issue

Abstract In recent years several European countries have been confronted with terrorist attacks. Since the Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995, there has been a growing evidence of trauma-research showing that survivors and witnesses of such attacks not only are affected physically, often with serous injuries, but also often experience severe mental health problems, such as PTSD, depression, or anxiety, which can take months or years to fade away. Moreover, such impact not only affect directly involved, but also indirectly involved persons (e.g. relatives of victims) and even the broader population. Terrorism has become a public health issue, challenging researchers to profoundly study determinants of terrorism as well as the ways of how to organise and install adequate preparedness before and proper responses and effective healthcare for populations in need after an attack. Until now, aftercare for people directly or indirectly affected by terrorist attacks and for the broader population gets rather little scientific attention. How did the health care services respond to such attacks? How should they respond and why? Were these services adequately prepared? Have survivors sought out help themselves? While there is an increasing body of knowledge on the association between a terrorist attack and PTSD, depression or other mental health problems, there is little known on the psychological aid that was given, and to whom this was given. In this workshop, research findings on aftercare after terrorism will be presented and discussed. Four researchers from three different European countries confronted with terrorist attacks in recent years (France, Belgium and Norway) will present their findings. Dr. Cécile Vuillermoz will present data on the immediate and long-term aftercare for civilians following the attacks on Charlie Hebdo in January 2015 in France, while Dr. Stephanie Vandentorren will present data on the psychosocial aid provided to directly exposed, witnesses and relatives after these attacks. Drs. Roel Van Overmeire will focus on the psychosocial aid offered to rescue workers shortly after the attacks in Belgium, and the months and years after. Finally, Dr. Lise Eilin Stene will give a presentation on current problems of healthcare in Europe in reaching those inflicted by terrorism and other traumatic events, while pointing to solutions and challenges for the future. Key messages More research is necessary to find adequate ways of reaching vulnerable people in need of psychosocial aid after terrorist attacks. More scientific insight is needed in the mental health impact of and the proper psychosocial aid response after large-scale traumatic events, in the direct aftermath as well as in the long term.

scholarly journals Population Psychiatric Medication Prescription Rates following a Terrorist Attack

2007 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 479-484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles DiMaggio ◽  
Sandro Galea ◽  
Paula A. Madrid
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
New York ◽  
Mental Health Service ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Health Service Utilization ◽  
Terrorist Attack ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Mental Health Service Utilization ◽  
Geographic Proximity ◽  
Prescription Rates

AbstractIntroduction:While several population-based studies have documented behavioral health disturbances following terrorist attacks, a number of mental health service utilization analyses present conflicting conclusions.Purpose:The purpose of this study was to determine if mental health service utilization increased following a terrorist attack by assessing changes in psychoactive drug prescription rates.Methods:The rate of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) prescriptions was measured among New York State Medicaid enrollees before and after the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. The association between geographic proximity to the events and changes in the rate of SSRI prescriptions around 11 September 2001 was assessed.Results:From September to December 2001, among individuals residing within three miles of the World Trade Center site, there was an 18.2% increase in the SSRI prescription rate compared to the previous eight-month period (p = 0.0011). While there was a 9.3% increase for non-New York City residents, this change was not statistically significant (p = 0.74).Conclusions:There was a quantifiable increase in the dispensing of psychoactive drugs following the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, and this effect varied by geographic proximity to the events. These findings build on the growing body of knowledge on the pervasive effects of disasters and terrorist events for population health, and demonstrate the need to include mental and behavioral health as key components of surge capacity and public health response to mass traumas.

Comparing the social networks of service users with long term mental health needs living in community with those in a general adult in-patient unit

2021 ◽  
pp. 002076402110175
Author(s):  
Roberto Rusca ◽  
Ike-Foster Onwuchekwa ◽  
Catherine Kinane ◽  
Douglas MacInnes
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Patient Group ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Practical Support ◽  
The Social

Background: Relationships are vital to recovery however, there is uncertainty whether users have different types of social networks in different mental health settings and how these networks may impact on users’ wellbeing. Aims: To compare the social networks of people with long-term mental illness in the community with those of people in a general adult in-patient unit. Method: A sample of general adult in-patients with enduring mental health problems, aged between 18 and 65, was compared with a similar sample attending a general adult psychiatric clinic. A cross-sectional survey collected demographic data and information about participants’ social networks. Participants also completed the Short Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale to examine well-being and the Significant Others Scale to explore their social network support. Results: The study recruited 53 participants (25 living in the community and 28 current in-patients) with 339 named as important members of their social networks. Both groups recorded low numbers in their social networks though the community sample had a significantly greater number of social contacts (7.4 vs. 5.4), more monthly contacts with members of their network and significantly higher levels of social media use. The in-patient group reported greater levels of emotional and practical support from their network. Conclusions: People with serious and enduring mental health problems living in the community had a significantly greater number of people in their social network than those who were in-patients while the in-patient group reported greater levels of emotional and practical support from their network. Recommendations for future work have been made.

An Empirical Examination on the Severity of Lone-Actor Terrorist Attacks

2021 ◽  
pp. 001112872110226
Author(s):  
Noah D. Turner ◽  
Steven M. Chermak ◽  
Joshua D. Freilich
Keyword(s):  
Terrorist Attack ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Severe Attack ◽  
Empirical Examination ◽  
Counterterrorism Policy

Lone-actor terrorists have increasingly attracted the attention of researchers, policymakers, and practitioners alike. Despite this enhanced interest, few studies have compared the outcomes of lone-actor terrorist attacks with other terrorists, and those that have do not consider the terrorists’ intention to kill in an attack. This study utilizes a sample of 230 terrorist homicide incidents from the Extremist Crime Database to examine the extent to which lone-actors perpetrate more severe attacks than other terrorists. We find that lone-actors are significantly associated with more severe attack outcomes when controlling for the intention to kill. We conclude by commenting on the utility of these findings in U.S. counterterrorism policy and the importance for future research to account for actors’ intentions when assessing terrorist attack severity

An automatic decision algorithm and simulation performance analysis for public safety

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Xiangwei Qi ◽  
Weimin Pan ◽  
Bingcai Chen ◽  
Gulila Altenbek
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Response ◽  
Terrorist Attack ◽  
Scheduling Algorithm ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Mathematical Form ◽  
Decision Algorithm ◽  
Simulation Performance ◽  
Whole Process ◽  
Real Scene ◽  
Crowd Evacuation

As the current society is increasingly facing major challenges from extremism and terrorism, protecting key urban public facilities and important targets from destruction is an important challenge facing the security departments of all countries. Based on real scene, this paper conducts researches on anti-terrorism security game algorithms and emergency response models in response to the three key links of before, during and after terrorist attacks. First of all, this paper constructs a multi-round joint attack game and emergency response model based on cooperation, establishes the optimization problem of solving the defender’s optimal strategy in mathematical form, and then obtains the optimal defense strategy. Secondly, in response to the fact that terrorists are not completely rational, a new hybrid model is constructed to propose an efficient allocation and scheduling algorithm for safe resources in response to terrorist attacks. Thirdly, a model of crowd evacuation strategy after a terrorist attack is built based on the problem of crowd evacuation in multiple rounds of premeditated cooperative attacks. Finally, taking the area of the first ring of a certain city as a real scene, a complete game system of the whole process is constructed, and the game effectiveness evaluation of the existing security resource allocation scheme in the first ring area is carried out. Through the research of this thesis, the author puts forward some new technical ideas for the current society’s anti-terrorism governance, and hopes to provide some technical references for the decision-making of security agencies.

scholarly journals Effects of terrorist attacks on access to maternal healthcare services: a national longitudinal study in Burkina Faso

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (9) ◽  
pp. e002879
Author(s):  
Thomas Druetz ◽  
Lalique Browne ◽  
Frank Bicaba ◽  
Matthew Ian Mitchell ◽  
Abel Bicaba
Keyword(s):  
Antenatal Care ◽  
Burkina Faso ◽  
Negative Binomial ◽  
Terrorist Attack ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Cesarean Sections ◽  
Maternal Healthcare ◽  
District Hospitals ◽  
The Impact

IntroductionMost of the literature on terrorist attacks’ health impacts has focused on direct victims rather than on distal consequences in the overall population. There is limited knowledge on how terrorist attacks can be detrimental to access to healthcare services. The objective of this study is to assess the impact of terrorist attacks on the utilisation of maternal healthcare services by examining the case of Burkina Faso.MethodsThis longitudinal quasi-experimental study uses multiple interrupted time series analysis. Utilisation of healthcare services data was extracted from the National Health Information System in Burkina Faso. Data span the period of January 2013–December 2018 and include all public primary healthcare centres and district hospitals. Terrorist attack data were extracted from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project. Negative binomial regression models were fitted with fixed effects to isolate the immediate and long-term effects of terrorist attacks on three outcomes (antenatal care visits, of facility deliveries and of cesarean sections).ResultsDuring the next month of an attack, the incidence of assisted deliveries in healthcare facilities is significantly reduced by 3.8% (95% CI 1.3 to 6.3). Multiple attacks have immediate effects more pronounced than single attacks. Longitudinal analysis show that the incremental number of terrorist attacks is associated with a decrease of the three outcomes. For every additional attack in a commune, the incidence of cesarean sections is reduced by 7.7% (95% CI 4.7 to 10.7) while, for assisted deliveries, it is reduced by 2.5% (95% CI 1.9 to 3.1) and, for antenatal care visits, by 1.8% (95% CI 1.2 to 2.5).ConclusionTerrorist attacks constitute a new barrier to access of maternal healthcare in Burkina Faso. The exponential increase in terrorist activities in West Africa is expected to have negative effects on maternal health in the entire region.

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