Social Media: A Novel Engagement Tool for Miners in Rural New Mexico

Shreya Wigh¹

William Cotton Jarrell, CMSP³

Elizabeth Kocher, MPH¹

Roger Karr²

Xin Wang, MS¹

Akshay Sood, MD, MPH^1,2

¹University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center School of Medicine

Albuquerque, NM, USA

²Miners Colfax Medical Center

Raton, NM, USA

³Peabody New Mexico Services

Grants, NM, USA

Abstract

Background: New Mexico miners usually live in rural areas. As compared to urban areas, rural areas in the United States demonstrate a lower use of the Internet and lower adoption of new technologies such as the smartphone and social media. Our study objective was to examine the use of these technologies among miners in rural New Mexico. Our long-term goal is to utilize these technologies to increase our program’s engagement with miners to provide medical screening and education services. Methods: We anonymously surveyed 212 miners at two town hall meetings in rural New Mexico communities, predominantly Hispanic and American Indian, in 2017. We then compiled that data in a Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) database and performed a statistical analysis using Statistical Analysis Software (SAS). IRB approval was obtained. Results: 60.8% of the 212 surveyed miners reported using social media. Among social media users, 88.4% reported using Facebook.  Most miners expressed willingness to use social media to keep in contact with other miners (51.2% overall) or to receive information about our miners’ program services (53.9% overall); and social media users were more likely to do so than non-users (p<0.001 for both analyses). Additionally, 79.7% of miners who owned a smartphone utilized it for texting. Conclusions: A majority of miners in rural New Mexico report use of social media and express willingness to use social media to network with other miners and with our program. The adoption of these communication technologies by rural New Mexico miners in our study is comparable or superior to that reported by rural Americans overall. It is possible to utilize this newer technology to increase program engagement with miners.

Introduction

New Mexico miners usually live in rural and medically underserved areas and suffer from multiple chronic diseases, particularly dust related lung diseases or pneumoconiosis. Rural counties in northern New Mexico have among the highest mortality rates for silicosis and pneumoconiosis, including coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, in the United States (1). To address this challenge, Miners’ Colfax Medical Center and the University of New Mexico have partnered in a federally funded medical screening program for rural miners.  As compared to urban areas, those who live in rural areas reportedly have a lower use of the Internet and are less willing to adopt new communication technologies such as the smartphone and social media (2). We have previously published that the primary source of information about miners’ health related activities for attendees at our miners’ health screening programs are traditional routes of communication such as a relative, friend, and community newspaper or flyer (3). Traditional media is, however, a one-way communication system that doesn’t create program engagement or work towards promoting word-of-mouth - the hallmark of social media (4). Our programs could utilize social media to promote awareness, encourage miner engagement, and increase the spread of accurate health messaging among New Mexico miners. Serving older, less educated, poorer, racial/ethnic minority, miners living in geographically remote and medically underserved rural areas of New Mexico may however affect the use and effectiveness of this communication tool.

The objective of our study was to examine the use of Internet-based smartphone and social media technology among miners in rural New Mexico. We hypothesized a low usage rate of these novel communication technologies among rural miners in New Mexico. Our long-term goal is to use these technologies to increase bidirectional engagement with miners with our federally funded Black Lung and Radiation Exposure Screening and Education Programs that currently provide medical screening, health care, and education services to coal and uranium miners in New Mexico.

Methods

Study design: This is a cross sectional survey of 212 miners, mostly coal miners, at two town hall meetings held in rural and medically underserved communities of Grants and Socorro, New Mexico, in 2017. These communities are predominantly American Indian and Hispanic respectively. The town hall meetings were held in conjunction with mobile health screening clinics for miners.

Survey creation: We created a survey on the use of the smartphone and social media, which asked construct-specific questions with either Yes/No responses or multiple choices. Examples of questions included whether miners would be willing to use social media to stay in touch with the mining community and if they had access to a computer with internet. The questions were formatted for an eighth-grade vocabulary, since our previous studies have shown that 57.2% of New Mexico miners do not complete high school education (3).

Survey administration: The paper copy of the survey was given to miners to fill out during the town hall meeting by the mine safety officer, on a voluntary and anonymous basis.

Analytic and database strategy: We compiled the survey data into a Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) database. We compared characteristics between social media users with social media non-users. Statistical analysis included an analysis of frequency distributions and Chi-square test, using Statistical Analysis Software (SAS 13.0, Cary, NC). A p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. We obtained human Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval for research exempt status (HRPO 14-058). The study was sponsored by Health Resource Services and Administration (HRSA) and Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI).

Results

60.8% of the 212 miners surveyed reported using social media. Among the social media users, 88.4% reported using Facebook, 27.9% reported using Instagram, and 26.4% reported using Snapchat.  Social media users reported utilizing the technology for an average of 47.9 ± 134.3 (SD) minutes daily, for approximately 6.0 ± 4.4 (SD) years. Most miners expressed willingness to use social media to keep in contact with other miners (51.2% overall) or to receive information about our miners’ program services (53.9% overall); and social media users were more likely to do so than non-users (p<0.001 for both analyses, Table 1).

Table 1. Difference in characteristics between self-reported social media users and nonusers, among rural miners in New Mexico.

86.3% of the miners surveyed also reported possessing a smart phone (93.8% versus 74.7% of the social media users and non-users respectively; p<0.001). 79.7% of miners owning a smartphone utilized it for texting (91.5% versus 61.5% of social media users versus nonusers respectively; p<0.001).

94.3% of rural miners reported having access to the Internet. Social media users were more likely to report having Internet access via computer or via phone than non-users (p = 0.08 and <0.001 respectively, Table 1). 24.0% of all miners however reported poor Internet connection as a challenge, and as compared to nonusers, social media users were more likely to report this challenge (p=0.01). 13.2% of all miners complained of the high expense of the Internet and the social media user status did not predict this characteristic (p=0.67). There was also no difference between the two groups with respect to the reported difficulty in navigating social media sites (p=0.32).

Discussion

Based on our results, we conclude that the majority of miners in rural New Mexico use Internet-based smartphone and social media technologies and are willing to use social media to network with other miners or programs that deliver health services to miners. We found that Facebook was the most popular social media site. The adoption of these communication technologies by rural New Mexico miners in our study is comparable or superior to that reported by rural Americans overall. This suggests that it is possible to use smartphone texting and social media technology to increase bidirectional program engagement with miners in rural New Mexico.

In 2017, the proportion of US population with a social media profile was variably estimated at 69-81% (5-7). Rural Americans in the US were approximately 8% less likely to use social media than urban Americans (2). The market leader in social media was Facebook, used by 68% and 79% of all and online American adults respectively (7). In our study, 60.8% of the rural miners reported using social media and 53.8% reported using Facebook, which is comparable to that reported in other US rural communities. In 2017, the proportion of American adults who owned a smartphone was 83%, 78%, and 65% for urban, suburban, and rural locations respectively (8). In comparison, 86.3% of rural miners in our study reported possessing a smartphone, indicating a higher level of smartphone possession than that reported by rural Americans overall. In 2017-2018, 89% of all American adults used the Internet (9). In an earlier survey from November 2016, 81% of rural Americans used the Internet, as compared to 89% of urban Americans (10). 63% of rural Americans had a broadband Internet connection at home, 10 percentage points less likely than Americans overall (10). In comparison, 94.3% of rural New Mexico miners in our study reported having access to the Internet, indicating a higher level of Internet access than that reported by rural Americans overall. Contrary to our initial hypothesis, we found that rural New Mexico miners in our study reported adoption of newer communication technologies at a level that was comparable or superior to that reported by rural Americans overall.

Racial/ethnic and health status-related disparities exist with respect to Internet access in the U.S. (9). However, among those with Internet access, these characteristics do not affect their social media use (11). New Internet-based technologies including smartphone and social media, may be changing the communication pattern throughout the U.S. and the world but this change has not been well studied, particularly in rural areas (11).  Potential overarching benefits of social media for health communication are (1) increased interactions with others, (2) more available, shared, and tailored information, (3) increased accessibility and widening access to health information, (4) peer/social/emotional support, (5) public health surveillance, and (6) potential to influence health policy (12). Our findings indicate that social media can similarly be used for health communication purposes among rural miners in New Mexico. Our HRSA-funded miners’ health and benefits programs in New Mexico have established a social media platform to provide rural miners with information on our clinical programs, research, education and other interventions as well as to provide opportunities for bidirectional engagement between the program and miners as well as among miners themselves. Our program has also launched a social media literacy campaign for miners, with the help of a rural mine safety officer.

Currently there is a limited amount of literature evaluating the use of social media for sustained engagement of diverse communities in health promotion (13,14). For instance, the Youth Voices Research Group has reported creating novel opportunities to engage young people to explore health topics ranging from tobacco use, food security, mental health, and navigation of health services, by combining social organizing with arts-informed methods for creative expression, using information technology (14). Creating opportunities for engagement alone is however insufficient. The information exchanged needs to be monitored for quality and reliability, users’ confidentiality and privacy need to be maintained (12), and its impact evaluated. Use of social media in health promotion in underserved populations, such as indigenous populations in Australia, is associated with limited evidence of benefit (15). Online social network health behavior interventions are reported to have small effect sizes, often statistically nonsignificant, with high participant attrition and low fidelity (16). It is therefore necessary for our program to critically evaluate the role and effectiveness of these new technologies in health promotion and health care for our population of rural miners.

The strength of our study includes inclusion of miners from rural and predominantly Hispanic and American Indian communities. Limitations of our study include small sample size and lack of information on individual demographic characteristics. Although our study was limited to New Mexico, our findings may be generalizable to other rural and medically underserved areas of the United States outside of New Mexico.

Conclusions

Most miners in rural New Mexico have Internet access, use smartphones and social media, and are willing to use social media to network with other miners or programs that deliver health services to miners. Rural New Mexico miners in our study report adoption of newer communication technologies at a level that is comparable or superior to that reported by rural Americans overall. This study provides preliminary information on a potential and novel way in which rural mining communities and miners’ health and benefits programs can engage with each other to promote miners’ health by assisting in clinical programs, research, education and other interventions. Miners’ program may consider interactive blogging, photograph elicitation, and video documentaries, alongside real-world social media projects, to promote this engagement. Potential barriers in rural miners include low social media literacy and poor Internet connection. Low social media literacy can however be addressed by targeted education of miners. Emerging areas of research include evaluating the effectiveness of the use of smartphones and social networking platforms such as Facebook, in building effective interventions for health promotion and providing healthcare for miners in rural communities.

Acknowledgments

SW, WCJ, EK, RK, KW, AS made substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; SW, WCJ, EK, RK, KW, AS made substantial contributions to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work. SW, WCJ, EK, RK, KW, AS made substantial contribution towards drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content. SW, WCJ, EK, RK, KW, AS provided the final approval of the version to be published. SW, WCJ, EK, RK, KW, AS agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

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Cite as: Wigh S, Jarrell WC, Kocher E, Karr R, Wang X, Sood A. Social media: A novel engagement tool for miners in rural New Mexico. Southwest J Pulm Crit Care. 2018;16(4):206-11. doi: https://doi.org/10.13175/swjpcc017-18 PDF

Giant Cell Myocarditis: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Nathan Spence, MD

Karen Niehaus, MD

Leonardo Macias, MD

Bart Cox, MD

University of New Mexico Hospital

Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States

Introduction 

First described by Saltykow in 1905 (1), Giant cell myocarditis (GCM) is a rare but highly lethal disease. Until the 1980s the diagnosis of GCM was determined at autopsy (2). It often affects young patients (mean age of 42.6 + 12.7 years),  and appears to occur in men and women equally. The occurrence of GCM in minority patients has not been previously described (3). The most common presenting symptom is heart failure (75%), though ventricular tachycardia (14%), chest pain with ECG findings of acute myocardial infarction (6%) and complete heart block (5%) may also occur. Treatment often involves an immunosuppressive regimen as a bridge to heart transplantation. The prevalence of GCM is known primarily from autopsy studies (i.e., 0.051% in India, 0.007% in England,  and 0.023% in Japan) (4-6). In the largest GCM observational study yet published, the rate of death or cardiac transplantation was 89 percent, with a median survival of 5.5 months from the onset of symptoms to the time of death or transplantation (3). Few cases with the successful treatment of GCM have been reported (7). Here we describe a case of GCM in a Hispanic female, the first to our knowledge, in which immediate diagnosis and initiation of an immunosuppressive regimen led to a favorable hospital course, whereby she was clinically stabilized and able to be transferred for transplant evaluation.

Case

A 56-year-old Hispanic female with a past medical history significant only for hypertension presented to our emergency department for evaluation of a non-productive cough over the last 3 days, which was associated with a headache, runny nose, myalgias, nausea, vomiting, chest pain, increased dyspnea on exertion, and lower extremity edema. On initial evaluation, heart rate was 86, blood pressure was 131/84, temperature was 37.4 degrees Celsius, oxygen saturation 96% on room air. Physical exam revealed a patient in moderate distress, a pericardial friction rub, clear lungs, and trace lower extremity edema. Laboratory testing revealed a leukocytosis of 12,800/mm³ (normal < 10,600/mm³), troponin I of 3.020 ng/mL (normal < 0.06 ng/mL), N-Terminal-Pro-BNP of 9,775 pg/mL (normal < 125 pg/mL), elevated ESR of 43 mm/hr (normal < 15mm/hr), elevated CRP of 3.6mg/dL (normal < 1 mg/dL), and a mild eosinophilia of 6% (normal < 5%).  Respiratory viral panel was negative. Chest X-Ray revealed a globular cardiac silhouette without definite evidence of congestion. Twelve-lead electrocardiogram revealed normal sinus rhythm with a new left bundle branch block. Cardiac catheterization revealed no significant coronary stenosis, with a left ventricular end diastolic pressure (LVEDP) of 22 mmHg. Upon admission to the floor, diuresis and titration of guideline based medications for dilated cardiomyopathy were begun, but were promptly discontinued due to development of hypotension. Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) displayed severe hypokinesis of the basal inferoseptum and inferior wall of the left ventricle. Estimated ejection fraction was 35%, with mild to moderate mitral regurgitation. Blood pressure stabilized on day 2 of admission. Cardiac MR (CMR) with gadolinium was ordered, which did not show definite myocardial delayed enhancement (i.e., no evidence of infarction, myocarditis. See Figure 1).

Figure 1 Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging. (A) Two chamber delayed post-gadolinium inversion recovery view. (B) Two chamber delayed post-gadolinium phase sensitive inversion recovery view.

On day 3 of hospitalization, the patient suddenly developed complete heart block, became hypotensive and confused. As a result, a temporary venous pacemaker (TVP) was placed, and endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) was performed. Five specimens were obtained. Pulmonary capillary wedge pressure was measured at 32 mmHg, with a Fick cardiac output 3.01 L/min and cardiac index of 1.77 L/min/m². Due to persistent hypotension in the cath lab, a dopamine drip was begun, a Swan-Ganz catheter was placed, and the patient was transferred to the Medical Intensive Care Unit for further hemodynamic monitoring and treatment. That afternoon, GCM was diagnosed by pathology (see Figure 2).

Figure 2 Pathology. (A) Infiltration of cardiac muscle tissue by an inflammatory infiltrate. (B) Massive myocyte necrosis with giant cells among the inflammatory infiltrate. (C) Rare eosinophils are seen among the inflammatory infiltrate. (D) Giant cell among the inflammatory infiltrate.

An immunosuppressive regimen of corticosteroids, azathioprine,  and cyclosporine was promptly initiated. Thereafter, over the course of 3 days, clinical symptoms  and hemodynamics improved significantly. TVP was removed, inotropic support was weaned off, and ACE inhibitor and diuretics were titrated. Beta-blockers were withheld out of concern for recent complete heart block and use of inotropic support. On hospital day 10, the patient was transferred, in stable condition, to be evaluated for heart transplantation, and/or mechanical circulatory support. At the outside center, she had an ICD placed for primary prevention, was maintained on the three drug immunosuppression regimen, continued to do well clinically, and was listed for transplant.

Discussion

Several autoimmune disorders have been associated with GCM, which include inflammatory bowel disease, thyroiditis, and thymoma (8). Our patient did not have a history of autoimmune disease, and the laboratory tests to detect such during her hospitalization were negative. Evidence suggests that GCM is an autoimmune disorder dependent on CD4-positive T lymphocytes and anti-myosin autoantibodies (8). Early diagnosis leading to appropriate treatment, as in our case, appears to be imperative for a favorable clinical outcome. Treatment with a combination of immunosuppressives has been shown to improve survival, compared with those not receiving immunosuppressive regimens (12.3 months vs. 3.0 months, p=0.001) (3). If patients live long enough to receive heart transplantation, longer term survival is possible. For that reason, it is a Class I (level of evidence B) guideline recommendation to perform EMB in the setting of unexplained, new-onset heart failure of < 2 weeks' duration associated with a normal sized or dilated left ventricle in addition to hemodynamic compromise (9). The sensitivity of EMB for GCM is 80% to 85% in subjects who subsequently die or undergo heart transplantation (2). Therefore, in the appropriate clinical setting, EMB may drastically alter treatment and provide important prognostic information. The pathological hallmark of GCM is the presence of multinucleated giant cells and a lymphocytic inflammatory infiltrate, associated with myocyte necrosis (10-12). CMR may display delayed myocardial enhancement to support the diagnosis of myocarditis, though a non-diagnostic study, as in our case, does not rule it out.   

We encountered, to our knowledge, the first case of GCM in a patient of Hispanic ethnicity, who presented with the classic associated symptoms of heart failure, hemodynamic collapse, and complete heart block, and whose clinical course was favorably improved by early diagnosis and initiation of an immunosuppressive regimen. CMR did not identify myocarditis. However, this case illustrates the importance of including GCM in the differential diagnosis when a patient presents with suggestive clinical features and is not responding to current evidence based treatment for acute decompensated heart failure.

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Reference as: Spence N, Niehaus K, Macias L, Cox B. Giant cell myocarditis: a case report and review of the literature. Southwest J Pulm Crit Care. 2014;8(4):247-51. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13175/swjpcc052-14 PDF