Engaging community Members to Plan for dissemination Of Wastewater Epidemiology Results (The EMPOWER Study) - PROJECT SUMMARY As wastewater research and surveillance programs develop and evolve beyond SARS-CoV-2 to a wide range of possible pathogens (viruses, bacteria, and protozoa), one critical challenge is determining what results ought to be shared, with whom, and how. A National Academies report and several commentators have drawn attention to legal and ethical issues related to the expansion of wastewater research and surveillance. However, no currently available guidelines focus on the ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) around communication of results in the context of expanded testing. Our overarching goal is to develop ethical guidelines for the dissemination of results from wastewater research and surveillance programs. The objective of this proposal is to develop a strategy for responsible reporting of results in the state of Texas that is feasible and reflects community members’ values and perspectives. In Aim 1, we will conduct embedded ELSI research using participant observation with the Texas Epidemic Public Health Institute (TEPHI) Wastewater Consortium (TWC) Action Plan Working Group and will carry out key informant interviews with members of the Working Group and other key stakeholders involved in TWC to identify facilitators and barriers to results dissemination. Community engagement is critical to building trust and tailoring communication to address ELSI concerns. Therefore, in Aim 2, we will conduct eight community engagement studios in four diverse locations across the state of Texas to identify what types of results residents prefer to receive and how they prefer to receive them. We will use the results of the community engagement studios to inform a statewide survey that we will conduct to evaluate public perspectives on return of results from wastewater research and surveillance. In Aim 3, we will draw on the results of Aims 1 and 2 to generate evidence-based recommendations that address key aspects of results dissemination, including privacy protections, communication strategies, target audiences, and stakeholder engagement. These recommendations will be used by the TWC Action Plan Working Group to develop an implementation strategy and communication platform that we will present to a subset of participants from Aim 2 community engagement studios for review and feedback. This research is significant because it will help optimize results disclosure and build public trust by engaging communities and developing processes that address stakeholder values, priorities, and concerns. This proposal is innovative as one of the first to systematically collect data on public perspectives about return of results from wastewater research and surveillance as these programs develop and evolve post-COVID-19. Our unique collaboration with the TWC makes this research both feasible and highly impactful. The outcomes of this research have the potential to improve the transparency, effectiveness, and acceptance of wastewater surveillance as a critical tool for public health and an important resource for advancing research on social and environmental determinants of health.
