Health News
- Poll Illustrates How Having Insurance And Access To A Health Care Provider Doesn't Mean You Can Afford The Care
Just because a person has appropriate access to a health care provider doesn't mean they can afford to pay for their services, according to the latest Kentucky Health Issues Poll. The poll found that three out of every four Kentuckians with health...
- Kentuckians Think Their Children's Generation Will Be Less Healthy And Worse Off Economically Than Current Working-age Generation
Forty percent of Kentucky adults think their children's generation will be less healthy than the current generation of working-age Kentuckians, and 61 percent think the newer generation will be worse off economically, according to a statewide poll...
- Nearly Half Of Kentuckians Keep Guns In Their Home, And 9 Percent Keep A Gun Loaded And Unlocked
Forty-five percent of Kentucky adults keep a gun or other firearm in their home, and one-fifth of those (9 percent of the population) keep them loaded but unlocked, the 2011 Kentucky Health Issues Poll has found. Children are present in almost...
- Ban Texting And Cell Phone Use While Driving, National Transportation Safety Board Urges
States should prohibit drivers from using cell phones and other portable electronic devices while behind the wheel, except during emergencies, the National Transportation Board said Tuesday. The recommendation was unanimous among the five members of the...
- More Kentuckians Had Health Insurance In 2010, Survey Finds
Fewer Kentuckians lacked health insurance in 2010, the Kentucky Health Issues Poll has found. About one in four Kentuckians ages 18 to 64 were uninsured last year, much the same as in 2008. Last year, at the depth of the recession, the uninsured...
Health News
Most Kentuckians in favor of banning cell phone use while driving
Though three of four Kentuckians admit to talking on the phone while driving, just as many would support a law banning cell phone use while operating a vehicle, the Kentucky Health Issues Poll has found.
"Although most Kentucky adults use their cell phones while driving, interestingly, they seem to recognize that this isn't a safe behavior," said Dr. Susan Zepeda, CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, which co-sponsored the poll. "Research has shown that drivers who are talking on a cell phone perform similarly to drivers who are legally drunk."
The poll found that more than 80 percent of Kentucky adults have a cell phone. Nearly 30 percent said they never use their cell phone when behind the wheel; 25 percent said they almost never do; 30 percent said they occasionally talk on the phone while driving; 10 percent said they talk on the phone almost every time they're in the car and 6 percent said they make calls every time.
While they do use their cell phones to talk, 8 out of 10 Kentucky adults do not text while driving, which is banned in Kentucky. Just 1 in 7 Kentucky adults said they occasionally or rarely use their cell phone to text or write emails when driving. Another 2 percent said they text every time they drive.
The U.S. Department of Transportation has identified texting as the most alarming road distraction and attributed 5,500 deaths on American roads to distracted driving in 2009. About 200 of those deaths happened on Kentucky roads.
The poll, conducted annually by the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Cincinnati, is jointly funded by the foundation and The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati. Its statewide sample of 1,677 results in a maximum margin of error of plus or minus 2.4 percentage points; regional samples are smaller and have higher error margins, around 5 percentage points. The foundation is the principal funder of Kentucky Health News. Other poll results can be found by clicking here.
- Poll Illustrates How Having Insurance And Access To A Health Care Provider Doesn't Mean You Can Afford The Care
Just because a person has appropriate access to a health care provider doesn't mean they can afford to pay for their services, according to the latest Kentucky Health Issues Poll. The poll found that three out of every four Kentuckians with health...
- Kentuckians Think Their Children's Generation Will Be Less Healthy And Worse Off Economically Than Current Working-age Generation
Forty percent of Kentucky adults think their children's generation will be less healthy than the current generation of working-age Kentuckians, and 61 percent think the newer generation will be worse off economically, according to a statewide poll...
- Nearly Half Of Kentuckians Keep Guns In Their Home, And 9 Percent Keep A Gun Loaded And Unlocked
Forty-five percent of Kentucky adults keep a gun or other firearm in their home, and one-fifth of those (9 percent of the population) keep them loaded but unlocked, the 2011 Kentucky Health Issues Poll has found. Children are present in almost...
- Ban Texting And Cell Phone Use While Driving, National Transportation Safety Board Urges
States should prohibit drivers from using cell phones and other portable electronic devices while behind the wheel, except during emergencies, the National Transportation Board said Tuesday. The recommendation was unanimous among the five members of the...
- More Kentuckians Had Health Insurance In 2010, Survey Finds
Fewer Kentuckians lacked health insurance in 2010, the Kentucky Health Issues Poll has found. About one in four Kentuckians ages 18 to 64 were uninsured last year, much the same as in 2008. Last year, at the depth of the recession, the uninsured...