The effect of the modifiable areal unit problem (MAUP) on spatial aggregation of COVID-19 wastewater surveillance data

• Published in: The Science of the total environment Vol. 957; p. 177676
• Main Authors: Zhu, Yifan, Hill, Dustin T., Zhou, Yiquan, Larsen, David A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 20.12.2024
• Subjects: bias; COVID-19 - epidemiology; COVID-19 infection; environment; Environmental Monitoring - methods; Epidemic risk assessment; Humans; Modifiable areal unit problem; monitoring; New York; New York - epidemiology; risk perception; SARS-CoV-2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; spatial data; Spatial data aggregation; Statistical bias; viral load; wastewater; Wastewater - virology; Wastewater surveillance; wastewater treatment; Wastewater-Based Epidemiological Monitoring; Wastewater-based epidemiology; New York; Statistical bias; Epidemic risk assessment; Modifiable areal unit problem; Wastewater surveillance; Spatial data aggregation; Wastewater-based epidemiology

Large wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) projects often have wide coverage and multiple sampling sites, necessitating spatial aggregation for data reporting and interpretation. However, the outcome may be impacted by a type of statistical bias called the modifiable areal unit problem (MAUP). In thi...