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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Theresa A. Gorman¹, Elizabeth Conlisk, PhD¹, and Betsy Hartmann, PhD². (1) School of Natural Science, Hampshire College, PO Box 361, 893 West Street, Amherst, MA 01002, 413-559-4870, tag02@hampshire.edu, (2) School of Social Science, Hampshire College, 893 West Street, Amherst, MA 01002

Introduction: Post-disaster health research influences the distribution of aid and shapes our long-term understanding of the disaster itself. It is unclear whether marginalized populations have been adequately included in the research following September 11. The purpose of this project was to collect every peer-reviewed research article on the health effects of September 11, summarize who and what was studied, and identify populations that received little attention.

Methods: A systematic Pub Med search was conducted for peer-reviewed articles that examined physical or mental health outcomes related to September 11 and that were published in English between October 2001 and February 2006. Each article was categorized by the location of the study, characteristics of the study population, research outcomes, and languages used during recruitment and data collection.

Results: 116 articles met the study criteria. There were nearly twice as many articles on mental health (primarily posttraumatic stress disorder and depression) than physical health (primarily respiratory health and asthma). 71 (61%) studies targeted populations in New York City and five studies (4%) in Washington, DC. 72 studies (67%) were conducted only in English. Of the 17 articles targeting occupational groups involved with the rescue and long-term recovery efforts at the World Trade Center, only one focused on unskilled clean-up workers who were mostly of Latino ethnicity.

Conclusion: September 11 health research has been primarily focused on mental health outcomes and New York City populations. The majority of studies were unavailable to non-English speakers. Future research needs to be more inclusive of marginalized populations.

Learning Objectives: