Developing occupational and health susceptibility personas for wastewater personnel in the United States in the age of COVID‐19
2022
Zhang, Yihan | Ha, Jessica | Kinyua, Maureen
Compared with the public, wastewater personnel, are at an increased risk of infection and illness from wastewater pathogens due to work‐related tasks. Unfortunately, current risk assessment approaches do not consider individual personnel factors (e.g., age and health conditions) that may influence their susceptibility to a health effect. The objective of this study is to establish a baseline level of occupational and health factors among the wastewater personnel population, quantify these factors using a susceptibility evaluation scoring system, and examine relevant susceptibility features using the concept of “Personas.” Using survey data from 246 respondents and public health risk data on COVID‐19 from the CDC, personnel clustered into three persona groups: “low susceptibility,” “high occupational susceptibility,” and “high health susceptibility.” Results highlight the intersectionality between gender, age, underlying health conditions, job tasks, and level of exposure to wastewater and provide context for incorporating individual variables into risk assessment methodologies with the goal of protecting this essential workforce. PRACTITIONER POINTS: A risk assessment framework that combines health and occupational susceptibility factors was developed for wastewater treatment plant personnel. Wastewater personnel clustered into three persona groups: “low susceptibility,” “high occupational susceptibility,” and “high health susceptibility.” The intersectionality between job related activities and individual health provides a holistic approach to risk assessment for wastewater personnel.
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