# Environmental Health Outcomes Research Among Hurricane Harvey Survivors

> **NIH NIH R21** · BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE · 2020 · $382,229

## Abstract

ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPLEMENT FOR NOT-ES-20-012 to parent R21 (R21ES029616): ENVIRONMENTAL
HEALTH OUTCOMES RESEARCH AMONG HURRICANE HARVEY SURVIVORS
Abstract of the Parent Grant
Flood waters from Hurricane Harvey (HH) damaged or destroyed more than 100,000 homes in the Houston
area when over 50 inches of rain and flooding occurred. A dozen Superfund sites and several
chemical/petroleum facilities were also involved in uncontrolled releases into the environment. Individuals and
communities expressed environmental health concerns and reached out to us for assistance. In response, we
formed a multi-institutional team with expertise relevant to NIEHS disaster research response (DR2) goals.
With some institutional support we mobilized our team and developed study protocols, obtained IRB approvals
with bi-lingual consents, and moved into the field within the 30-day window. We administered more than 150
health surveys, deployed equal number of wristbands, and collected more than 450 oral, nasal, and fecal
biosamples, from individuals in 3 flooded communities. Based on our experience, we are confident that we can
increase enrollment to 300 individuals complete with 6- and 12-month post-Harvey data. We hypothesize that
individual- and neighborhood-level factors such as social support, access to resources, socioeconomic position
(SEP), and proximity to point sources of contamination will affect health impact. We also hypothesize that
personal environmental exposures to mold and chemicals will increase the health risks impacted by HH. We
propose the following aims: Aim 1: To develop efficient methods for disaster epidemiology actions. We will
conduct health assessments to identify the environmental health impact from HH at the individual and
community level. Our overall goal is to develop and administer health risk assessments and exposure to flood
waters in order to improve disaster research response (DR2) tools. These tools will be critical to optimize
response rates, exposure measurements, and health assessments at 6 &12 months post-HH. Aim 2: To apply
community-engaged research approaches to synthesize and disseminate findings and obtain resident
feedback at 3 time points to inform study changes and provide the framework for the environmental health
action plans for each neighborhood. These include recommendations for resource reallocation and tailored
outreach programs to mitigate Harvey-related consequences. Aim 3: Evaluate the impact of Harvey-related
exposures on short- and long-term health outcomes. Impact: Overall goal is to minimize the adverse
environmental health effects of HH survivors and develop DR2 tools for improving rapid responses to other
natural disasters in large urban centers.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10156319
- **Project number:** 3R21ES029616-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Abiodun Oluyomi
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $382,229
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-08-05 → 2021-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10156319

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10156319, Environmental Health Outcomes Research Among Hurricane Harvey Survivors (3R21ES029616-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-29 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10156319. Licensed CC0.

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