Terrorism, Mental Health, and September 11 examines how post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) extended far beyond the New York population directly exposed to the September 11 attacks. Television coverage brought the disaster to a much larger audience and caused full-blown and sub-syndromal cases of PTSD throughout the nation. The report recommends increasing training for PTSD diagnosis and treatment so that primary care physicians are able to refer or assist patients suffering from the disorder.

Gerry Fairbrother is a professor of pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati/Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, where she holds joint appointments in epidemiology and biostatistics as well as health policy and clinical effectiveness. Previously, she was senior scientist at the New York Academy of Medicine and research director of the Academy’s Child Health Forum. She received her Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Fairbrother has examined the effects of September 11 on children in New York City as well as the adequacy of procedures to identify and serve the mental health needs of children after a terrorist attack. She also has written extensively about the impact of changes in the health care delivery system on children.

Sandro Galea is a medical epidemiologist and associate director at the Center for Urban Epidemiologic Studies at the New York Academy of Medicine. He did his graduate training at the University of Toronto Medical School, the Harvard University School of Public Health, and the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. He is interested in the epidemiology of mental health and substance abuse with a particular focus on social and economic determinants in urban settings. His recent work has focused on post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and the use and consequences of illicit drugs. Dr. Galea is board certified in family medicine and emergency medicine and has worked as a clinician in remote rural communities in northern Canada and in the Mudug Region of Somalia.