Clinical Assessments

We will perform clinical assessments of 600 people (400 among community members in the area affected by the blowout and 200 among community members in non-affected comparison areas).

Licensed and certified members of the clinical research team will conduct the following in-person assessments:

  • vital signs – heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate, and temperature

  • height/weight and waist/hip ratio

  • cognitive screening
  • spirometry (lung function test – FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC)

  • blood collection to test for: blood-related diseases, liver and kidney function, immune status, lipid profile, and metabolomics.

To select participants for the clinical assessments, the health survey team will use research sampling techniques to identify and invite people from a subset of participants who complete the health screening survey. The survey team will also obtain consent from all participants in the clinical assessments.

The clinical team will contact those who volunteer to re-confirm eligibility and provide information on how to prepare for the visit. Clinical assessments will be scheduled at sites within the local community for the convenience of participants.

Data collected during clinical assessments will be combined with data in the comprehensive Health Study database that contains high-resolution exposure data on air toxics. Studying these data together will allow us to determine if there are relationships between health status and exposures and determine if people in the disaster-affected communities show more clinical signs and symptoms of chronic diseases.