Post-traumatic stress

Terrorist attacks have a profound and lasting psychological impact on exposed civilians and first responders, particularly on civilians who were directly threatened or have lost loved ones, but also on bystanders and family members.

Our Missions

  • Monitoring the psychological and traumatic impact of terrorist acts

  • Providing useful information to improve care

  • Providing information on psychological trauma, its progression, and its determinants

What We Do

Terrorist attacks and other traumatic events often cause psychological trauma, even in the absence of physical injuries, not only among the victims, of course, but also among witnesses. Witnessing this type of event can cause suffering that, in the months and years that follow, is likely to become severely debilitating—whether in terms of mental health, social relationships, or overall quality of life. That is why, following the attacks that struck France in 2015, Santé publique France established a monitoring system for the psychotraumatic impact of terrorist acts and the associated care pathways, based on:

ESPA Survey, November 13, Phase 2

In November 2020, Santé publique France launched the second phase of the ESPA 13 November survey to assess, five years after the attacks, how the psychological impact has evolved and how support...

The PROTECT Project

The international PROTECT research project draws on data from studies conducted in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Norway (Utøya, 2011) and France (Paris, 2015).

The ESPOIR Study

The ESPOIR study focuses on the Paris Fire Department. The study, scheduled for 2020, is being conducted jointly by Santé publique France and the Paris Fire Department.