# Engaging community Members to Plan for dissemination Of Wastewater Epidemiology Results (The EMPOWER Study)

> **NIH NIH R01** · BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE · 2024 · $411,600

## Abstract

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...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10868914
- **Project number:** 1R01ES036232-01
- **Recipient organization:** BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Jennifer Leigh Deegan
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $411,600
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-06-15 → 2028-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10868914

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10868914, Engaging community Members to Plan for dissemination Of Wastewater Epidemiology Results (The EMPOWER Study) (1R01ES036232-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10868914. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*