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. 2024 May 2:11:23821205241252069.
doi: 10.1177/23821205241252069. eCollection 2024 Jan-Dec.

Where Does Wastewater-Based Epidemiology Fall in Medical Student Education?

Bethany Hodge  1 , Rochelle H Holm  2
Affiliations

Where Does Wastewater-Based Epidemiology Fall in Medical Student Education?

Bethany Hodge et al. J Med Educ Curric Dev. .

Abstract

Doctors are well-trained in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of individual stool or urine sample data; however, wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) combines the excretion of many community members into an anonymous health sample tied to a geographic location. We advocate for the inclusion of WBE in medical education. WBE offers physicians an opportunity to better care for patients with diseases seen at health clinics and doctors' offices, customize and inform treatment, and accept positive results as true positives, backed by the contextual information provided by wastewater findings. It is also a tool to combat biased or misinformed risk perceptions. Medical education should include how to evaluate wastewater information presented, detect inconsistencies, and determine applicability; just as medical students are taught to do with data from other sources.

Keywords: community health; environmental monitoring; global education; medical education; sewer; wastewater-based epidemiology.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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