The Hawai‘i Department of Health (DOH) will conduct a needs assessment survey for residents affected by the wildfires. The DOH survey will assess ongoing priorities identified by the community and barriers to accessing healthcare and other essential services.

“It’s critical that efforts by the Department of Health and our partners are driven by needs identified by Maui communities, and this assessment will help us to better understand existing gaps and barriers to care,” said State Epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Kemble. “The information collected will be used to direct state and federal resources to meet the immediate and medium-term needs of Maui residents as well as to link participating households to any additional services they might need and have not been able to access. We appreciate the community’s participation in this assessment.”

DOH staff will call a random selection of Maui residents impacted by the wildfires from October 9 to October 11. The survey, which will involve asking questions over the phone, takes less than 10 minutes to complete and is entirely voluntary. DOH staff will be able to assist in completing the survey in Ilocano, Tagalog, Marshallese, Spanish, and Hawaiian languages. DOH staff will also have access to interpreters to complete the survey in additional languages. Selected households will be asked about their resource needs, access to medical and behavioral health support services, current physical health and well-being, and any barriers they have experienced in applying for and receiving the services they need. All survey responses will be confidential, and no personally identifiable information will be collected.

Through the selection of a random sample, DOH can collect data that is representative of the impacted population in a minimally intrusive manner. This survey will provide important information to direct the continued work of DOH and other emergency response partners.

Additional information on resources available to the Maui community is available at https://health.hawaii.gov/mauiwildfires/.