Capturing Knowledge, Attitudes, and Perspectives from Healthcare-Related Personnel Regarding Integration of Wastewater-Based Epidemiology Data into the Clinical Setting: A Pilot Study

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is a rapidly evolving discipline that employs the analysis of human excreted biomarkers in untreated, community wastewater to provide near real-time population-level health assessments. While its popularity to support public health decision-making and intervention grew during the COVID-19 pandemic, understanding its utility and acceptability in healthcare is currently underexplored. This study aimed to generate evidence to support the integration of WBE into the healthcare setting via an educational webinar with the following objectives: (i) assess change in perspectives of WBE via surveys, (ii) understand major applications of interest and applicability to healthcare, and (iii) capture perspectives on its utility in this context. Comparative findings indicated an overall increase in support of WBE (95% to 100%), a reduction in concerns regarding data accuracy (40% to 25%), and an increase in support for the use of WBE to influence public policy (65% to 75%). Follow-up, open-ended survey responses indicated the workshop was an effective method to educate on WBE and its wide variety of applications. Overall, this pilot study revealed there is merit in further investigating the utility of integrating WBE data into the healthcare setting, as its integration demonstrates high levels of potential acceptability in clinical practice. Future work that reaches a wider audience and tests specific educational interventions is needed to further confirm utility, determine best educational outreach methods, and explore relevant and useful applications in the healthcare setting.