University of Hawaiʻi receives $6M to extend Maui wildfire health study

The University of Hawaiʻi has been awarded nearly $6 million in federal funding from the National Institutes of Health to extend and expand the Maui Wildfire Exposure Study (MauiWES) through 2031.

The funding consists of two grants aimed at tracking the long-term health impacts of the 2023 Maui wildfires on survivors from communities such as Lahaina and Kula. The study will continue to follow approximately 1,000 adult participants and expand to include 800 children. Researchers intend to examine how wildfire exposure, displacement, stress, and housing instability affect physical health, mental health, lung function, and child development.

By combining health screenings and biological samples with data on environmental exposures and economic recovery, the study seeks to identify persistent health problems and provide insights to better protect communities from future disasters.