Wastewater Monitoring: Improving Public Awareness and Understanding in the United States, May 2024.

Objectives: Although wastewater monitoring for virus detection has increased in communities worldwide, public awareness, understanding, questions, and concerns about wastewater monitoring are largely unknown. We assessed awareness, knowledge, and support for wastewater monitoring for detection of viruses and bacteria among US residents and elicited questions and concerns from residents about its use.

Methods: We conducted a survey among a racially and ethnically diverse sample of residents in Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, and Texas to assess awareness, knowledge, and support of wastewater monitoring.

Trusted sources for COVID-19 testing and vaccination: lessons for future health communication.

Background: Promoting COVID-19 vaccination (both the primary series and boosters) remains a priority among healthcare professionals and requires understanding the various sources people trust for acquiring COVID-19 information.

Method: From October 2021 to May 2022, we interviewed 150 people who called 2-1-1 helplines in Connecticut and North Carolina about their COVID-19 testing and vaccination experiences in order to (1) better understand where people obtain trusted COVID-19 health information and (2) identify how public health professionals can share emergency health information in the future. We used a mixed methods approach in which semi-structured qualitative interviews and survey data were collected in parallel and analyzed separately.