Research

Flood inundation map of the August 2017 event in Bangladesh. The figure also shows the locations of the 2017-2018 Bangladesh Demographic Health Survey clusters, along with 5 km buffers around rural clusters and 2 km buffers around urban clusters, as well as the flooded inundation area overlap. The zoomed in box highlights that some rural and urban clusters were affected by flooding while others remained unaffected. Figure from Broyles et al. (2026)

Extreme Weather, Water, and Health

Floods, droughts, and extreme heat are not experienced uniformly; their health impacts are shaped by entrenched social and spatial inequalities. A central question in my work is how adaptive technologies can mitigate these uneven burdens, and for whom they are most effective.

To address this, I integrate satellite-derived environmental data with disaster and population health datasets to examine how patterns of environmental extremes intersect with socially differentiated vulnerabilities. I analyze how these dynamics translate into unequal water- and food-related health outcomes across populations, with particular attention to how adaptive capacities and resource access mediate risk in marginalized communities.

Selected publications:

Broyles, L., Thiede, B., Rosinger, R. Examining the effects of long-term drought and household water access on child nutritional status in Kenya. Under review at Water Resources Research

Broyles, L., Pakhtigian, E., Mejia, A. Monsoon flooding and undernutrition among children in Bangladesh. (2026) Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2026.156290

Broyles, L., Pakhtigian, E., Mejia, A. (2024). Estimating effects of monsoon flooding on household water access. Environmental Research Letters. http://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad6ce9.

Broyles, L., Pakhtigian, E., Aziz, S., Akanda, A., & Mejia, A. (2023). Seasonal variation in household water insecurity: Evidence from rural Bangladesh. PLOS Water 2(7): e0000157. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pwat.0000157.

Broyles, L., Pakhtigian, E., Rosinger, A., & Mejia, A. (2022). Climate and hydrological seasonal effects on household water insecurity: A systematic review. WIREs: Water. http://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1593.

Adaptive Water Technology and Household Willingness to Pay

Pastoralist communities such as the Maasai in Kenya experience climate-related disruptions through deeply unequal social and environmental conditions that shape their vulnerability and adaptive capacity. Recurrent droughts, flash floods, and extreme heat disproportionately threaten water access, food systems, and nutritional health, underscoring how climate hazards intersect with longstanding marginalization to produce uneven health outcomes.

My research examines how these inequities are mediated not only by environmental exposure but also by differential access to resources, infrastructure, and information. I investigate what forms of climate information are most meaningful and actionable for pastoralist households, when such information can most effectively support decision-making, and how modes of dissemination may reinforce or reduce existing disparities. In parallel, I assess household willingness to pay for water- and food-related adaptive technologies as a lens into the social and economic constraints that shape climate resilience, with particular attention to how these constraints reproduce inequities in health and well-being.

Selected publications:

Trepanier, L., Orare, J., Nyagwencha, J., & Grady, C. (2021). How are we actually doing? Comparing water and sanitation in Kenya with MDG and SDG criteria. Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development, 11(4), 638-656. http://doi.org/10.2166/washdev.2021.023.

Ransom, E., Grady, C., Trepanier, L., & Bain, C. (2021). Situated Ethics in Development: STS Insights for a Pragmatic Approach to Development Policy and Practice. Science, Technology & Human Values. http://doi.org/10.1177/01622439211052685.

Broyles, L., Pakhtigian, E., Punyua, E., Mose, R., Kileteny, N., Kileteny, T., Onyangore, F., Nyagwencha, J., Rosinger, A.. “Household drinking water treatment effectiveness differs when examining experiential water and food insecurity scales compared to water quality”. In Prep for Environmental Science and Technology

Broyles, L., Pakhtigian, E., Punyua, E., Mose, R., Kileteny, N., Kileteny, T., Onyangore, F., Nyagwencha, J., Rosinger, A.. “Household willingness to pay for improved water quality technology to increase climate resiliency”. In Prep for Environmental Science and Policy

Household Water and Food Insecurity

Because household water and food insecurity often co-occur, water interventions may simultaneously address both food and water issues. Household water insecurity (HWI)—a situation in which water affordability, reliability, stability and/or safety are compromised insofar as to limit a healthy life—and household food insecurity (HFI)—a situation in which there is not regular access to sufficient safe and nutritious food for normal growth and development and/or an active and healthy life—have been found to co-occur and mutually amplify each other across high-, low-, and middle-income settings. There is a growing literature base emphasizing the need to simultaneously address food and water issues through targeted interventions to maximize efficiency of resources and experienced benefit from recipient populations. Continuing to respond to this gap will provide needed evidence to understand if addressing the lever of safe water can simultaneously improve food problems, providing an opportunity for pooling resources.

Selected Publications:

Broyles, L., Huanca, T., Conde, E., Rosinger, A. (2024). Water insecurity may exacerbate food insecurity even in water-rich environments: evidence from the Bolivian Amazon. Science of the Total Environment 954:17605. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.176705

Rosinger A.Y., & Broyles L. (2023). Water insecurity is a structural, often invisible barrier to healthy beverage patterns and nutritious diets. (Invited Commentary): Journal of Nutrition: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.tjnut.202.09.015.

Intermittent Water Supply

Globally, over one billion people are estimated to use piped water which is only available for limited periods, rather than continuously. Intermittent water supply systems (IWSs) are shaped by multiple factors related to environmental change including population growth, lack of infrastructure financing, infrastructure decay, damage from extreme weather events, and overconsumption of existing water supplies. In this work, I examine household-level and individual coping strategies to intermittent water supply globally.

Selected Publications:

Broyles, L., J. Stoler, G. Amankwaa, N. Billava, K. Chavarria, B. Mwiinga Chimbang, A. Ercumen, D. Fuente, E. Kumpel, M. Nyamai, A. Pearson, A. Rosinger, L. Seghezzo, P. Thomson, A. Wutich, S. Weston. Household coping costs and adaptive management of intermittent water systems: A systematic review. In prep.

Household Water Insecurity in High Income Settings

Roughly two million in the U.S. do not have access to water for basic needs and close to 60 million Americans do not drink their tap water regardless of water source (municipal or private) due to potential distrust. Uncertainty and health consequences related to water sources can lead to water insecurity, or the inability to access and gain adequate, reliable, and safe water for well-being and a healthy lifestyle.

Selected Publications:

Broyles, L, Ford, L., Barnhart, K., Deshpande, S., Todd, M., Morse, E., Swistock, B., Yoxtheimer, D., Boser, S., Fowler, L., Warner, A., Rosinger, A. Two systematic reviews investigating drinking water perceptions and health outcomes connected with private water use in Pennsylvania. (2025) WIREs Water. https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.70049

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