NCJ Number
213230
Date Published
2005
Length
20 pages
Annotation
Given that large-scale terrorist attacks in the United States have killed and injured people at their workplaces, this chapter discusses the new role that workplace health professionals can play in mitigating the consequences of a terrorist attack on their workplaces.
Abstract
The chapter first identifies some barriers that must be addressed in developing such a role for a health professional in the workplace. These are an organizational focus on resuming normal operations rather than meeting personnel needs, lack of a pattern of cooperation and coordination essential for preparing employees for disasters, employer and employee resistance to participation in preparedness activities, and workplace health providers' lack of training in mental health issues related to disasters. In addressing these barriers, the chapter proposes an Integrated Workplace Resiliency Model. The model is both a strategy for engaging organizations in terrorism planning and a vehicle for educating management personnel and employees about disaster preparedness. The model is based in a public health perspective that views terrorism as a threat to the health of an entire Nation. Employers and workplace health and productivity professionals can have an important function in protecting the health of the organization and its employees. The model carries the term "resiliency," which refers to the ability of most people to recover and return to normal life after a disaster. Resiliency is becoming a featured topic in the workplace, since it is the bridge that joins the future of both the organization and its employees. The chapter concludes with the advice that workplace preparedness for terrorism is an important population health intervention of the 21st century that can make a significant contribution to homeland and global security. 2 tables and 49 references