From hurricanes to industrial accidents, the Texas Gulf Coast is no stranger to disasters. In the aftermath, communities are left to clean up, rebuild, and adapt to new conditions. They are often faced with significant health, environmental, and societal challenges. Institute for Translational Sciences (ITS) leaders and team members are finding better ways to study disaster impacts to help communities recover according to their social and health needs.
Responsible Research
Recently, Dr. Elise Smith, the ITS’s Director of Research Ethics Consultation Services, launched a National Science Foundation-funded project to develop methods for incorporating social values and responsibilities into research programs at cleanup sites.
Scientists at cleanup sites investigate a wide range of issues, such as the effectiveness of different decontamination methods or understanding which communities are at greatest risk for negative health effects. The new project led by Dr. Smith, an assistant professor in the School of Public and Population Health at UTMB, will produce guidelines that can be used by scientists at cleanup site to ensure social values and responsibilities are included in their investigations.
To achieve this, Smith and colleagues will recruit individuals working at, or impacted by, cleanup sites. The team will conduct focus groups, interviews, and field observations to gather perceptions, ideals, and values related to social responsibilities of research at cleanup sites. The knowledge and opinions gathered from participants will help improve disaster cleanup planning, procedures, and outcomes.
Registry for the Aftermath
Hurricanes and other disasters cause significant disruptions to daily life, including issues with communication, electricity, and transportation. There can also be short- and long-term health effects, including increased risk of anxiety and depression, infectious disease, and exacerbation of pre-existing conditions. The scientific community’s understanding of the health impacts of disasters is limited, and lacks precision for how specific locations are affected by different types of disasters. To address this gap, ITS researchers and colleagues have launched a biorepository and database of health markers from individuals in Galveston County to be research ready when the next disaster strikes.
The Health Assessment of Residents at Risk of Exposures during a Disaster Event (HARRDE) project held three events in April 2024 to engage participants and collect baseline data. Overall, the spring events recruited 69 participants and collected 497 primary specimens in just 14 business days. The research team, led by Dr. Sharon Croisant, the ITS Community Engagement Lead and Professor in the School of Public and Population Health, collected biological samples from blood, saliva, and more, and gathered health data such as blood pressure and lung function. All participants agreed to be contacted again if a disaster affects the area.
In the meantime, the research team, which brings together the ITS, the Sealy Center for Environmental Health and Medicine, and medical students in the John Sealy School of Medicine, is analyzing the HARRDE baseline data and has stored all samples in a biorepository for future study.
Top Photo: Vicki McNamara, ITS Research Regulatory Specialist, explains the consent process to HARRDE participants. Photo credit: Krista Bohn
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