A proposed universal medical and public health definition of terrorism.
The lack of a universally applicable definition of terrorism has confounded the understanding of terrorism since the term was first coined in 18th Century France. Although a myriad of definitions of terrorism have been advanced over the years, virtually all of these definitions have been crisis-centered, frequently reflecting the political perspectives of those who seek to define it. In this article, we deconstruct these previously used definitions of terrorism in order to reconstruct a definition of terrorism that is consequence-centered, medically relevant, and universally harmonized. A universal medical and public health definition of terrorism will facilitate clinical and scientific research, education, and communication about terrorism-related events or disasters. We propose the following universal medical and public definition of terrorism: The intentional use of violence--real or threatened--against one or more non-combatants and/or those services essential for or protective of their health, resulting in adverse health effects in those immediately affected and their community, ranging from a loss of well-being or security to injury, illness, or death.
Arnold
Jeffrey L
JL
Yale New Haven Center for Emergency and Terrorism Preparedness, 1 Church Street, 5th floor, New Haven, CT 06510, USA. arnoldmdcs@cs.com
Ortenwall
Per
P
Birnbaum
Marvin L
ML
Sundnes
Knut Ole
KO
Aggrawal
Anil
A
Anantharaman
V
V
Al Musleh
Abdul Wahab
AW
Asai
Yasufumi
Y
Burkle
Frederick M
FM
Chung
Jae Myung
JM
Cruz-Vega
Felipe
F
Debacker
Michel
M
Della Corte
Francesco
F
Delooz
Herman
H
Dickinson
Garth
G
Hodgetts
Timothy
T
Holliman
C James
CJ
MacFarlane
Campbell
C
Rodoplu
Ulkumen
U
Stok
Edita
E
Tsai
Ming-Che
MC
D003419:Crisis Intervention; D004189:Disaster Planning; D004632:Emergency Medical Services; D014943:Global Health; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D020380:Needs Assessment; D011634:Public Health; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D023481:Terrorism / Q000145:classification*; D014481:United States; D014754:Violence