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-cent...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Prehospital and disaster medicine 2003-06, Vol.18 (2), p.47-52
Main Authors: Arnold, Jeffrey L., Örtenwall, Per, Birnbaum, Marvin L., Sundnes, Knut Ole, Aggrawal, Anil, Arantharaman, V., Al Musleh, Abdul Wahab, Asai, Yasufumi, Burkle, Frederick M., Chung, Jae Myung, Vega, Felipe Cruz, Debacker, Michel, Corte, Francesco Della, Delooz, Herman, Dickinson, Garth, Hodgetts, Timothy, James Holliman, C., MacFarlane, Campbell, Rodoplu, Ulkumen, Stok, Edita, Tsai, Ming-Che
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
adverse effect
Crisis Intervention
death
definition
disaster
Disaster Planning
Emergency Medical Services
event
Global Health
Guidelines as Topic
health
Health technology assessment
healthcare system
Humans
injury
medical definition
Needs Assessment
non-combatant
psychological injury
Public Health
Stress, Psychological
terrorism
Terrorism - classification
Theoretical Discussion
United States
Violence
vulnerable
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Summary: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.
ISSN:1049-023X
1945-1938
DOI:10.1017/S1049023X00000753