Exposure assessment in epidemiological studies of drinking water

Exposure assessment aims to ascertain the magnitude, duration, frequency and routes of exposure to enable estimation of individual- or population-level exposures. Exposure assessment is one of the main limitations in epidemiological studies of waterborne contaminants and is a key source for potential misclassification bias. As population dynamics (e.g., increased mobility/migration) and water consumption patterns change, this becomes an increasingly difficult task. This presentation will address some of the inherent exposure assessment challenges, and will include a discussion of routes of exposure for waterborne contaminants, relevant exposure indices, indirect and direct exposure assessment approaches, reliability and validity of survey data, and techniques to reduce measurement error in exposure estimates.