8.5 Identifying project objectives
The objectives in Sections 8.1–8.4 generate information supporting human and animal health.
Identifying trends in public health-relevant resistant pathogens in sewage, or assessing the efficacy of an intervention to reduce the emission of AMR to the environment are ways to reduce the chance of exposure of humans and animals to AMR pathogens. Measuring AMR in an environmental compartment is important to unravel the complex issues of AMR and lower the burden of disease in humans and animals. To get the results you need, the project objectives should be specific and achievable.
Activity 7: Setting objectives
Think back to the list that you made in Activity 6 of the environmental compartments that could be monitored for AMR.
Add these compartments to the table in this template [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] . For each compartment, think of a possible study area that you might explore within that compartment, and complete the table by adding a possible overall objective for each combination – pick one or more from:
- determining trends of AMR
- determining emerging forms of AMR
- generating data contributing to exposure assessments of AMR
- determining the efficiency of interventions.
Discussion
Table 1 shows some reasonable study areas and possible objectives for the compartments identified by the course authors in Activity 6. This doesn’t mean that other answers are wrong; it all depends on the context.
| Compartment | Study area | Objective(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Raw sewage/untreated wastewater | Pathogen of low prevalence with public health concern | Determining trends (in humans) |
| Raw sewage/untreated wastewater | Concerns about new forms of resistance | Identifying emerging forms |
| Untreated and treated wastewater | Questions about wastewater treatment interventions | Determining the efficacy of intervention |
| Agricultural soil | Concerns about dissemination of AMR by fertilising with manure | Determining trends in AMR |
| Drinking water | Questions about treatment options | Determining the efficacy of intervention |
| Drinking water | Concerns about public health | Producing data for risk assessment |
| River water | Attribution of urban and agricultural sources to river concentrations; role of residues for selection of AMR | Determining trends in AMR |
| Irrigation water (and irrigated crops) | Questions about irrigations with wastewater | Producing data for risk assessment/determining the efficacy of intervention |
| Air | Concerns about occupational exposure of farmers | Producing data for risk assessment |
8.4 Determine the efficiency of interventions
