The team of University of Hawaii at Manoa researchers leading the Maui Wildfire Exposure Study hopes to expand its work with legislative support.

The study, which aims to monitor the long-term effects of environmental hazards on the health and socioeconomic status of Maui wildfire survivors, was discussed last week at an informational hearing for the Committee on Health and Homelessness.

“This work is unique and is likely the most comprehensive study to evaluate short- and long-term health to date following a natural disaster in the state,” Alika Maunakea, one of the UH Manoa professors co-leading the study, said Wednesday at the hearing.

The study also prioritizes understanding how pre­existing health and socioeconomic inequities are affected by the wildfires.

Launched in December, the study is a collaboration among the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization, the College of Social Sciences, the John A. Burns School of Medicine, the UH Cancer Center and other community-based organizations.

The team aims to assemble a cohort of 1,000 adults affected by the wildfires for their study, which will involve annual data collection of social, such as demographics and employment information, and biomedical, such as samples of urine and saliva, data over five to 10 or more years.

Study participants will receive “rapid results for relevant health conditions” based on their data collection, and the team will refer at-risk participants to relevant health care providers. Additionally, the collected data will be shared with the community to inform decision-making by government agencies, community-based organizations and medical professionals on next steps to mitigating health impacts.

The proximity of this study to the actual events on Aug. 8 is significant to the research, as previous research done after other community disasters was delayed and missed identifying potential health risks.

“The only way, really, to identify (health risks) is to track it as close as we can to the event, especially as things change for individuals,” Maunakea said. “It’s important to capture those individuals before those changes happen so that we know who has been affected and how we can serve those populations better.”

As of Wednesday the team had approximately 200 people registered online to participate in the study. The team will conduct in-person recruitment events on Maui over the next few weekends to reach its current cap of 1,000 participants.

But the researchers want to reach more people, including children, first responders and volunteers who have assisted with hands-on recovery efforts. The team estimates that the study costs approximately $1,000 per participant per year but that about 70% of those costs are returned back to the community through medical tests, participant incentives and patient care.

“Really, the limitation is funding. … But as mentioned, we also provide a service to the community members as they participate in the study,” Ruben Juarez, a UH Manoa professor co-leading the study, said at the hearing. “The funds for that research really go a long way to support our community while helping us collect much-needed information that can be used to make informed decisions of protecting from potential hazards and better protecting from future disasters.”

“To me it only makes sense to expand the Maui WES study to reach all members of our community, including children and our first responders,” Nikima Glatt, a Lahaina nurse practitioner, shared during the hearing. “I think it’s crucial to ensure healthy outcomes, foster resilience and learn what it takes to build resilience to educate communities on how to better mitigate the impacts from future wildfires … but also the health risks associated, and no one should be left behind.”

The project is already supported by the Hawaii Community Foundation and other supporters of UHERO, as well as potential grants from the National Institute of Health, but requested support from the state to keep the project going long term.

The Maui Wildfire Exposure Study, UHERO Executive Director Carl Bonham said, is “really an extension” of research that Juarez and Maunakea conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic to “understand community responses to inform policy.” In partnership with the state, this research evolved into the UHERO Rapid Health Survey, with the goal of establishing a representative sample of the state population to quickly gather information from in response to community emergencies or disasters.

“This project is really an extension of what we learned during the pandemic, which is that we simply don’t have the data that we need every time there’s an emergency or a disaster,” Bonham said. “We don’t have the capacity to quickly bring to bear the information that you need to inform everything from housing support to food support to education support to health support.”

Health and Homeless- ness Committee Chair Della Au Belatti (D, Makiki- Punchbowl) said toward the end of the hearing that she wrote a bill — which has yet to be distributed — regarding funding for the project after meeting with Juarez and Maunakea.

“I know that we’re going to have a great partnership with our congressional, our county partners and with the community,” Belatti said at the hearing. “I really want to say mahalo to Dr. Juarez and Dr. Maunakea for leading this effort, for pulling together the community partners that you already have, and that we will be continuing this conversation as we head into session.”