Maui wildfire survivors are making progress in some areas of recovery, but their journey is far from over.
That's a snapshot from the Maui Wildfire Exposure Study. The largest post-disaster health study in Hawaiʻi is being led by the University of Hawaiʻi.
Nearly 2,000 adults and children are participating.
Keiki health is of particular concern. One in three children had elevated or high blood pressure, and nearly 20% had impaired breathing capacity.
More concerning was their mental health. Chris Knightsbridge is a clinician and part of the mental health team in the study.
"When we're talking about kids and mental health, like the numbers that we have here — so like, over 51% of kids screen positive for depression, 22% in the severe range, which means, like, you can pretty much diagnose them right then and there with major depressive disorder that they're having, like, passive or even active suicidal ideation,” Knightsbridge said.
“I mean, at 10-years-old, that's not that's not normal, right? But this is the best case scenario, because children, the golden rule, children always under report. They always minimize their mental health,” he said
State funding for the study ends on Aug. 15, and federal funding will only cover 500 participants over the next year. The Hawaiʻi Community Foundation and Kaiser Permanente have also partnered on the study.
