A report by Interact for Health and the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky says more Northern Kentucky respondents described their health status as “excellent” or “very good” than respondents in the state as a whole (54 percent versus 43 percent).
Results are from the 2015 Kentucky Health Issues Poll (KHIP). About one in three said making a change to improve their health would be “very easy” or “easy,” similar to statewide results.
The Kentucky Health Issues Poll measures opinions on a wide variety of health policy issues. “Health policies in locations where Kentuckians live, work and play can create healthier and safer places for our families, co-workers, children and neighbors,” says Jennifer Chubinski, Ph.D., Vice President, Innovation and Learning, Interact for Health.
The complete Spotlight on Northern Kentucky report is available here.
Having health insurance is an important factor in being able to stay healthy and get needed health care. Fewer than 2 in 10 Northern Kentucky adults (17 percent) aged 18 to 64 were uninsured at the time of the Poll, similar to the state as a whole (13 percent).
“This is a significant decrease in the number of uninsured adults since 2012,” says Chubinski. “This decline may be in part due to kynect, which began enrollment in October 2013.”
Some people may forgo or delay medical care because they can’t afford it. About 2 in 10 adults in Northern Kentucky (22 percent) reported a time in the last 12 months when they or a member of their household needed medical care but did not get it, or delayed getting it, because of the cost. This is similar to the state as a whole.
However, Northern Kentucky adults were more likely to have problems paying medical bills than adults statewide, 37 percent vs. 28 percent.
KHIP has tracked Kentuckians’ views about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) since it became law in 2010. About 1 in 3 Kentucky adults (33 percent) reported having a generally favorable opinion of the ACA, and 1 in 2 (50 percent) had a generally unfavorable opinion of it. Northern Kentuckians had a slightly less favorable opinion of the ACA compared with the rest of the state and the nation.
Since 2010, KHIP has been measuring the experiences of heroin and prescription pain reliever misuse in Kentucky communities. Northern Kentuckians were more likely to report knowing family or friends who had experienced problems as a result of heroin use. And about 30 percent reported that a family member or friend had problems as a result of abusing prescription pain medicine (such as OxyContin, Vicodin, Percocet or codeine), similar to last year’s results for Northern Kentucky and 2015 statewide results.
In 2010, KHIP began asking Kentuckians their opinions on a statewide smoke-free law. In Northern Kentucky, 68 percent of adults favored a statewide smoke-free law, an increase in support from 2011, when just 54 percent of Northern Kentucky adults favored a statewide law. For the state as a whole, support for this law has risen from 54 percent in 2011 to 66 percent in 2015.
Also, 54 percent of adults in Northern Kentucky favored increasing the minimum legal age for tobacco purchases from 18 to 21 years old. And 85 percent favored schools in their communities adopting tobacco-free campus policies. This is similar to statewide results.
The survey also learned that adults in Northern Kentucky are less likely than adults statewide to:
•Favor increasing the Kentucky minimum wage to $10.10 per hour;
•Report the Affordable Care Act had positively affected themselves and their families;
•Identify improving Kentucky’s economy, improving the job situation in Kentucky, and fully funding the Kentucky employee retirement systems as extremely important or very important issues for the next Governor and Kentucky legislature.
More information about Northern Kentuckians’ opinions, and other topics, is available at www.interactforhealth.org/kentucky-health-issues-poll.
About the Kentucky Health Issues Poll
The 2015 Kentucky Health Issues Poll (KHIP) is funded by Interact for Health and the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. KHIP was conducted Sept. 17-Oct. 7, 2015, by the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Cincinnati. A random sample of 1,608 adults from throughout Kentucky was interviewed by telephone. This included 986 landline interviews and 622 cell phone interviews with cell phone users. In 95 of 100 cases, the statewide estimates will be accurate to ± 2.4%. There are other sources of variation inherent in public opinion studies, such as non-response, question wording, or context effects that can introduce error or bias. For more information about the Kentucky Health Issues Poll, please visit www.interactforhealth.org/kentucky-health-issues-poll or www.healthy-ky.org.
About Interact for Health
Interact for Health is building healthy communities for all people. We serve as a catalyst for health and wellness by promoting healthy living through grants, education, research, policy and engagement. Interact for Health is an independent foundation that serves 20 counties in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. More information is available at www.interactforhealth.org.