NEW YORK (AP) -- Most Americans are not confident in the health care system's ability to respond to a biological, chemical or nuclear attack, according to a survey released Tuesday.
The survey, conducted by the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, found that just 39 percent of Americans trust public health in the event of a major terrorist attack. The number is down from 46 percent in 2003 and 53 percent in 2002.
Dr. Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness, called the drop ``a crisis in confidence'' and said it was appropriate.
``The health care system is decidedly not ready to cope with a major crisis of the type that might include these very aggressive weapons,'' Redlener said.
``The totality of the preparedness efforts are too random and inadequate to result in a real and enhanced state of readiness,'' he continued. ``It's a mess.''
Calls seeking reaction from the federal Department of Health and Human Services were not immediately returned.
The survey, co-sponsored by the Children's Health Fund, was conducted July 19 through July 26_ before this month's terror warnings. It consisted of 1,234 interviews and had a sampling margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
The poll found that the public has slightly more faith in the federal government's ability to respond to an attack than it does the health care system's.
Just over half those surveyed, or 53 percent, felt confident in the government's ability to protect against and respond to a terror attack. That's down from 62 percent in 2003.
Despite sinking confidence in authorities, the poll found that 63 percent of families do not have a basic emergency plan in case of disaster. Only 21 percent said they were familiar with their community's response plan for a terror attack.
Redlener called this a point of special concern.
``The reality is first responders are you and your neighbors and co-workers,'' he said. ``I don't think we can depend on the immediate appearance of outside authorities.''
Police officers and firefighters scored highest on the poll's questions of trust.
Roughly 77 percent of people said they were confident in their local fire department's ability to respond to a terror attack and 66 percent were confident in the police department.
In New York, the numbers were similar, with 76 percent of people confident in the FDNY and 67 percent confident in the NYPD.
The poll results show that the federal government has a long way to go in updating and preparing the hospital and health care system around the country, Redlener said.
``The stage we're in now would have been OK six months after 9/11,'' he said. ``It's very much not OK at this point.''
