HHS biodefense advisory panel to examine behavioral health issues

Dr. Betty Pfefferbaum

The National Biodefense Science Board, an advisory council set up to provide expert advice to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, on chemical, biological, nuclear and radiological agents and their effects, will hold a public meeting in the Washington, DC area on September 22 to hear a report from its subcommittee on disaster mental health.

The meeting will run from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, but the precise venue has not yet been announced.

The disaster mental health subcommittee has been assessing the progress at HHS in integrating behavioral health into emergency preparedness and response activities, according to a Federal Register notice posted by the office of HHS Secretary Kathleen Sibelius.

The Board’s disaster mental health subcommittee, whose chairperson is Betty Pfefferbaum, M.D., J.D., the Director of the Terrorism and Disaster Center at the University of Oklahoma’s Health Sciences Center, in Oklahoma City, OK, defines its missions as “protecting, preserving, and restoring individual and community mental health in catastrophic health event settings, including pre-event, intra-event, and post-event education, messaging, and interventions.” 

The public meeting on September 22 of the full National Biodefense Science Board will address other agenda topics as well, as priorities dictate, says the notice. 

Further information is available from the Board’s Web site.