The Maui Wildfire Exposure Study, through the University of Hawaiʻi, has been awarded nearly $6 million to continue and expand.
The funding is comprised of two grants coming from the National Institutes of Health and will support Hawaiʻi's largest and most comprehensive disaster health cohort to extend through 2031. It will allow researchers to continue following 2,000 adult participants from Lahaina and Kula, and expand to include 800 keiki.
“Children are still developing, so what happens to them after the disaster might shape their health for decades,” said Alika Maunakea, a professor at the John A. Burns School of Medicine and co-principal investigator of the exposure study. “We want to understand how wildfire exposure, displacement, stress, and changes at home can affect their lungs, mental health, development, and education. Most importantly, we want to identify problems early enough so that families, schools, and health systems can do something about them.”
Exposure study researchers say following fire-impacted individuals over time can help understand how their health will change as families recover and rebuild their lives.
“These awards transform MauiWES from an emergency response into a long-term commitment to Maui,” said Ruben Juarez, UHERO-HMSA Distinguished Endowed Professor of Health Economics and co-principal investigator of MauiWES. “We began studying families within months of the fires. Now we can follow them for years to understand which health problems persist, who is recovering and what we can do to better protect communities after future disasters.”
In its three annual reports from 2024 to 2026, UH says the study has documented ongoing respiratory, mental health challenges, housing instability and healthcare access issues.
