VNR: Nearly $6M in NIH awards will extend UH Mānoa’s landmark Maui wildfire health study

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

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***SUGGESTED VOSOT SCRIPT BELOW***

The National Institutes of Health has awarded the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa nearly $5.9 million through two grants to continue and expand the Maui Wildfire Exposure Study (MauiWES), Hawaiʻi's largest and most comprehensive disaster health cohort.

The new funding from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) will allow researchers to continue following adults affected by the August 2023 Maui wildfires and expand the study to 800 children, creating an unprecedented opportunity to understand how a major disaster affects physical health, mental health, development and recovery over many years.

Together, the awards will extend MauiWES through 2031-eight years after the fires.

"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."

MauiWES impact

MauiWES was launched following the August 8, 2023 wildfires and enrolled approximately 1,800 adults and 200 children from wildfire-affected communities, including Lahaina and Kula, during its first year. The study brings together health screenings and biological monitoring with information on environmental exposures, mental health, housing, displacement and economic recovery.

What began as an emergency response supported by the State of Hawaiʻi, the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation and Kaiser Permanente Hawaiʻi has now grown into a long-term, federally funded effort to understand the health consequences of the Maui wildfires.

MauiWES has already translated its early community investment into measurable scientific and health impact. Across three annual community reports-2024, 2025 and 2026-the study has documented persistent respiratory and mental health challenges, housing instability and barriers to care as families recover. Findings published in JAMA Network Open and JAMA Psychiatry have further documented the lasting health effects of the fires and the critical roles of displacement, economic disruption and social support in recovery.

To date, MauiWES has connected hundreds of participants to healthcare and mental health services, and has now provided more than 4,000 appointments and screenings to more than 2,500 residents, returning health information and referrals directly to the community.

Following Maui survivors through recovery

The first award, R33MD019793, The Maui Wildfire Exposure Cohort Study on Community Health and Resilience, provides approximately $2.2 million over three years to continue following roughly 1,000 adults affected by the wildfires through 2029.

Participants receive comprehensive health assessments that include lung function testing, blood pressure, mental health screening and biological samples. Researchers also track housing, employment, displacement and other measures of recovery. By following the same people over time, MauiWES can move beyond a snapshot of the disaster to answer a bigger question: How does health change as families rebuild their lives?

Expanding MauiWES to children

The second award, R01MD021757, Evaluating the Health and Developmental Impacts of Wildfire Exposure on Children, provides approximately $3.7 million over five years and extends the MauiWES program through 2031.

The project will expand MauiWES to 800 children (400 children affected by the wildfires and 400 unexposed children for comparison) and follow them over several years. Researchers will examine lung and cardiovascular health, mental health, environmental exposures, stress, cognitive development, school attendance and academic performance. Early findings show why long-term follow-up is important. Among approximately 200 children evaluated after the fires, MauiWES researchers found high levels of symptoms of depression and anxiety, probable PTSD, and evidence of airway obstruction.

"Children are especially important to follow because their lungs, brains and bodies are still developing," said Alika Maunakea, professor at the John A. Burns School of Medicine and co-principal investigator of MauiWES. "By looking at environmental exposures, health, stress, and education together, we can better understand how the wildfire may shape their development as well as identify ways families, schools, and health systems can support their recovery."

From Maui to a national model

A major strength of MauiWES is that researchers began collecting detailed health information and biological samples shortly after the disaster, creating an early baseline that can now be connected with years of follow-up. MauiWES is among the earliest cohorts established after a wildfire disaster to collect both biomedical samples and health screening data, providing important baseline information that can be compared with participants' health trajectories over time.

With the new awards, MauiWES will combine long-term data from the participants, creating a comprehensive picture of how disaster affects people and families across generations. The goal is not only to understand what happened in Maui, but to turn those lessons into better health screening, clinical care, school support, disaster-response, and prevention-oriented strategies for communities in Hawaiʻi and across the country.

The MauiWES team emphasized that the study would not be possible without the thousands of Maui residents who have participated and the community organizations, health care providers and local leaders who have supported the effort since the fires.

Research reported in this release is supported by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities of the National Institutes of Health under award numbers R33MD019793 and R01MD021757. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Read more about MauiWES on UH News.

Link to video and sound (details below): https://spaces.hightail.com/receive/v7OvVYNGDG

VIDEO:

BROLL: (1:45)

0:00-1:45 - Maui Wildfire Exposure Study collection events

SOUNDBITES:

Alika Maunakea, professor at the John A. Burns School of Medicine and co-principal investigator of MauiWES

(0:17)

"So the fire may have ended, but recovery takes years. We're still seeing challenges with physical health, mental health, housing and economic stability long after the disaster itself. So following families over time allows us to understand which problems improve, which might persist and what actually helps people recover."

(0:20)

"Children are still developing, so what happens to them after the disaster might shape their health for decades. 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."

Ruben Juarez, UHERO-HMSA Distinguished Endowed Professor of Health Economics and co-principal investigator of MauiWES

(0:15)

"We want to understand why some people recover quickly while others continue to struggle years later. That means looking beyond the fire itself at health, housing, employment, environmental exposure and social support together."

(0:12)

"One of the biggest lessons is that disaster response cannot stop when the emergency ends. The community may need help monitoring, mental health support and social services for many years afterward."

VOSOT SCRIPT:

INTRO:

The University of Hawaiʻi is getting nearly six million dollars in new funding to continue its landmark Maui wildfire health study.

VO:

MauiWES has been following people affected by the 2023 fires, tracking their physical and mental health as they recover.

The new funding from the National Institutes of Health will keep the study going through 2031.

Researchers will also expand the study to 800 children, looking at their health, development and school performance.

SOT:

Alika Maunakea, professor at the John A. Burns School of Medicine and co-principal investigator of MauiWES

"Children are still developing, so what happens to them after the disaster might shape their health for decades. 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."

Ruben Juarez, UHERO-HMSA Distinguished Endowed Professor of Health Economics and co-principal investigator of MauiWES

"We want to understand why some people recover quickly while others continue to struggle years later. That means looking beyond the fire itself at health, housing, employment, environmental exposure and social support together."

VO:

The goal is to better understand the long-term effects of wildfire exposure.

And help communities prepare for future disasters.