Preparing for an influenza pandemic: mental health considerations.
There is a common belief that an influenza pandemic not only is inevitable, but that it is imminent. It is further believed by some, and dramatized by a 2006 made-for-television-movie, that such a pandemic will herald an end to life as we know it. Are such claims hyperboles, or does a pandemic represent the most significant threat to public health in the new millennium? Any potential effects of a disease on a population are mediated not only through the pathophysiological mechanisms of the disease itself, but through the psychological and behavioral reactions that such a disease might engender. It is the purpose of this paper to explore the potential psychological and behavioral reactions that may accompany an influenza pandemic.
Perrin
Paul C
PC
Department of International Health, The John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA. pperrin@jhsph.edu
McCabe
O Lee
OL
Everly
George S
GS
Links
Jonathan M
JM
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds; D004189:Disaster Planning; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014943:Global Health; D006285:Health Planning; D006801:Humans; D053124:Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype; D005585:Influenza in Birds / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000635:transmission; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000635:transmission; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008603:Mental Health; D013315:Stress, Psychological