Public awareness and perceptions of wastewater-based epidemiological health monitoring in the United Kingdom

Cross-sectional survey results from a survey on public awareness and perceptions of wastewater-based epidemiology, conducted between the 27th to the 28th of June 2022. Participants (n = 1158) were aged 18 years or older and resided in the UK. The survey consisted of 25 closed-ended and 2 open-ended questions, with 10 questions collecting demographic information. The questionnaire was designed by a team consisting of environmental microbiologists, public health specialists, wastewater-based epidemiologists, and social scientists, based on the study objectives and incorporating information from previous studies on the same topic. The survey opened with questions concerning the participants awareness and support for environmental monitoring programmes, followed by questions on awareness and support for public health monitoring, surveillance locations and data sharing with different potential end users and lastly their agreeance with statements concerning the collection and use of public health monitoring data. Closed-ended questions used a 5-point Likert scale (e.g., strongly disagree to strongly agree).