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A Multidisciplinary Educational Intervention to Improve the Health of Appalachian Coal Miners
Drew A Harris1, Brad Johnson2, Jessica Rasnick2
1Department of Continuous Medical Education, University of Virginia, Charlottesville VA.
Introduction:
Coal Mine Dust Lung Disease (CMDLD, often referred to as Black Lung) is associated with social, economic and emotional impacts for miners, their families and Appalachian communities. Effective care for coal miners requires a multidisciplinary approach centered on collaboration between physicians, behavioral health specialists, epidemiologists, federal regulators, attorneys, journalists, community advocates, and policy experts. These partnerships are essential for clinical management, disease prevention, benefits navigation, and worker protections. Despite this complexity, most health professionals receive little formal training in occupational surveillance programs, benefits navigation, or policy advocacy relevant to coal miners. To address these needs, on September 17, 2025 we convened the Central Appalachian Coal Miner Summit, a multidisciplinary continuing education conference.
Methods:
Speakers were selected for subject matter expertise across clinical care, public health, law, journalism, social sciences and policy. The plenary session, delivered by a New York Times journalist was entitled, "Why journalism matters to coal miners and Appalachia." Additional sessions addressed CMDLD epidemiology, mental health of coal miners, CDC prevention programs, mine safety regulations, and black lung benefits. Conference effectiveness was evaluated by pre- and post- conference surveys assessing self-reported confidence across five competency domains.
Results:
Forty in-person participants completed both a pre- and post-conference survey and were included in the paired analysis. Participants demonstrated statistically significant improvements in confidence across four of the five assessed domains, particularly in areas underrepresented in traditional medical education, including benefits navigation and occupational health policy.
Discussion:
Conference participation was associated with significant improvements in confidence across multiple domains central to coal miner health, particularly in areas underrepresented in traditional medical education, including benefits navigation and occupational health policy. In the immediate aftermath of the conference, participants also joined collaborative advocacy efforts and formed new research partnerships to work towards improved coal miner health. Future work will assess whether these gains translate into sustained changes in clinical practice, surveillance participation, and benefits utilization.
