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...
- As Nurse Practitioners Enjoy Their New, State-granted Authority, The Paducah Sun Looks At The Issue In Far Western Kentucky
Kentucky law has expanded the rights of nurse practitioners, Laurel Black notes for The Paducah Sun: "Local practitioners say the move will provide patients with better access to care, but not everyone in the medical community embraces the idea." The...
- One Of Every Three Kentucky Adults Didn't See A Dentist Last Year; Key Factors Are Overall Health, Insurance And Income
More than a third of Kentucky adults say they didn't go to a dentist last year, and one in six said they hadn't in five years or more, according to the latest Kentucky Health Issues Poll. The results show the challenges Kentucky adults who are...
- Poll Shows Kentucky Health-care Providers Often Fail To Discuss Hiv Testing With Patients
A new poll suggests that most Kentucky health-care providers follow guidelines for discussing HIV screening with their patients, despite the the importance of early treatment to prevent its progression to AIDS. Although the Centers for Disease Control...
- 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...
Health News
Poll finds four out of five Kentuckians are comfortable seeing a nurse practitioner or physician assistant for routine care
New poll figures indicate the majority of Kentuckians are comfortable seeing a nurse practitioner, physician assistant or mid-level clinician for their routine care, especially if they have been treated by such clinicians. The findings come as the General Assembly considers a bill that would allow physician assistants to practice more independently.
The poll also inquired about a proposed new ?mid-level? profession: advanced dental hygiene practitioners. These practitioners would provide routine dental care, including diagnostic and preventive services such as filling cavities. Although advanced dental hygiene practitioners cannot currently be licensed to practice in Kentucky, polling data indicated 73 percent of Kentucky adults would be comfortable with such a practitioner providing routine dental care.
"As providers move to create a system of care that includes a range of skill sets and training in its care teams, new strategies emerge that hold promise to increase access to affordable care ? not just in urban centers but also in rural and underserved communities,? said Dr. Susan Zepeda, president and CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, which sponsored the poll. ?The data suggest that the public is very receptive to health care services from different types of clinicians.?
The poll, co-sponsored by the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati, was taken Sept. 20 through Oct. 14 by the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Cincinnati. A random sample of 1,680 adults throughout Kentucky was interviewed by landline and cell telephones. The poll's margin of error is plus or minus 2.5 percentage points. (Read more)
In the Kentucky Health Issues poll last fall, 79 percent of Kentucky adults said they would be comfortable seeing a nurse practitioner for routine health care, and half of those people said they would be very comfortable. Eighty-one percent said they would be comfortable seeing a physician assistant for routine health care, and 42 percent of those respondents said they would be very comfortable.
Reported comfort was higher among people who had received care from a nurse practitioner or physician assistant in the past year; 86 percent of those people said they would be comfortable seeing an NP again for routine care. Eighty-eight percent of those who had received care from a PA in the past year said they would be comfortable doing that again.
"As providers move to create a system of care that includes a range of skill sets and training in its care teams, new strategies emerge that hold promise to increase access to affordable care ? not just in urban centers but also in rural and underserved communities,? said Dr. Susan Zepeda, president and CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, which sponsored the poll. ?The data suggest that the public is very receptive to health care services from different types of clinicians.?
The poll, co-sponsored by the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati, was taken Sept. 20 through Oct. 14 by the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Cincinnati. A random sample of 1,680 adults throughout Kentucky was interviewed by landline and cell telephones. The poll's margin of error is plus or minus 2.5 percentage points. (Read more)
- 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...
- As Nurse Practitioners Enjoy Their New, State-granted Authority, The Paducah Sun Looks At The Issue In Far Western Kentucky
Kentucky law has expanded the rights of nurse practitioners, Laurel Black notes for The Paducah Sun: "Local practitioners say the move will provide patients with better access to care, but not everyone in the medical community embraces the idea." The...
- One Of Every Three Kentucky Adults Didn't See A Dentist Last Year; Key Factors Are Overall Health, Insurance And Income
More than a third of Kentucky adults say they didn't go to a dentist last year, and one in six said they hadn't in five years or more, according to the latest Kentucky Health Issues Poll. The results show the challenges Kentucky adults who are...
- Poll Shows Kentucky Health-care Providers Often Fail To Discuss Hiv Testing With Patients
A new poll suggests that most Kentucky health-care providers follow guidelines for discussing HIV screening with their patients, despite the the importance of early treatment to prevent its progression to AIDS. Although the Centers for Disease Control...
- 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...