How drinking water quality affects health and inequality for older Americans
Official title: Drinking Water Quality, the Health of Older Americans, and Inequality
Funded at National Bureau of Economic Research · NIH-11233279 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether federal upgrades to local drinking water systems improve health and reduce inequalities for older adults and people with chronic illnesses.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | National Bureau of Economic Research NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Cambridge, United States) |
| Project start | December 1, 2022 |
| Project end | November 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $828,801 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AG079914-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11233279 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People most relevant to the research are older adults and individuals with chronic diseases who live in communities served by aging public water systems.
✕Less likely to help
Younger, healthy people or those not served by the affected public water systems are less likely to directly benefit from the study's findings.
What this research studies
From my point of view, researchers compare communities that received large federal loans to upgrade water treatment and pipes with similar communities that did not, to see whether water pollution and health events changed over time. They link environmental records, water quality measurements, and health data such as hospital admissions and mortality to measure effects on older adults and people with chronic conditions. The team focuses on whether investments reduce health risks and narrow differences across communities, especially for vulnerable and low-income neighborhoods. You would not be treated directly in this project, but its findings could influence policies and investments that affect drinking water safety in your area.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could show that upgrading water systems improves health for older adults and helps make safe drinking water more accessible and equitable.
How similar studies have gone: Prior studies have linked contaminated drinking water (for example arsenic or lead exposure) to worse health outcomes and some infrastructure improvements have shown health gains, but using federal loan receipt as a natural experiment is a relatively new analytic approach.
Where this research is happening
-
National Bureau of Economic Research
Cambridge, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Shapiro, Joseph — National Bureau of Economic Research
- Study coordinator: Shapiro, Joseph
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.