Foundation breaks down poll by region to show differences among Kentuckians’ views on health topics and issues
respondents’ answers to various KHIP questions and then compares regional
responses to statewide findings.
Statewide
KHIP results showed that most Kentucky adults do not have dental insurance, view health-care costs as a financial burden, favor a statewide smoke-free law, support
integration of mental-health and medical services, and say they need more information about how the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act will impact them personally. The Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky offered these snippets from the regional breakdowns, available by clicking each link:
Western
Kentucky: Residents were less likely to have dental
insurance and less likely to know someone who had experienced problems as a
result of abusing prescription pain relievers.
Greater
Louisville: Adults were more likely to have dental
insurance, support the legalization of marijuana under any circumstance and be
concerned with air quality.
Greater
Lexington: Adults were less likely to have been prescribed
a pain reliever that could not be purchased over the counter and less likely to
change or limit their activities when they hear of an air quality alert being
issued.
Northern
Kentucky: Adults were less likely to have visited a
dentist in the past year and less likely to have a favorable view of the
Patient and Affordable Care Act.
Eastern
Kentucky: Adults were more likely to rely on home
remedies or over the counter drugs instead of going to the doctor and recognize
that drug poisonings/overdoses were the leading cause of unintentional death in
Kentucky.
“Local
health issue data can be extremely useful for policymakers and health
officials, especially those working on local initiatives to improve the health
of their community,” said Susan Zepeda, president and CEO of the foundation.
The poll was conducted Sept. 20 through Oct. 14 by the Institute for Policy Research at the University of
Cincinnati. A random sample of 1,680 adults from throughout Kentucky was
interviewed by telephone, including landlines and cell phones. The poll
has a margin of error of plus or 5.3 percentage points. The poll is available online, under the “Data and Reports” tab
on the foundation’s website.