The University of Hawaii at Hilo is teaming up with the University of Central Florida and the University of Houston to determine the effects of deployment on military families.

The Department of Defense is funding the $2.7 million Ohana Heroes Project. 

The goal, according to UH Hilo psychology professor and principal investigator Charmaine Higa-McMillan, is to better understand how military deployment affects family functioning and ultimately develop programs to support those families.

“Unique to the current conflicts, families of deployed troops face increasing distress as a result of repeated and lengthening deployments,” Higa-McMillan said in a press release.

The project will draw from interviews and surveys, as well as past research looking at biological stress markers such as certain hormones and disrupted sleep patterns. Also, unlike other studies, this project is using civilian and non-deployed military families as control groups, according to a press release.

Researchers are currently seeking all types of families on the Big Island and Oahu with at least one child. Participation involves interviews and paper surveys, as well as some saliva sampling and watch movement analysis over the course of one week. Participants are eligible for $100 each in compensation. 

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Photo: A military family. (Courtesy of Ohana Heroes Project)

— Alia Wong