Kentuckians who are familiar with needle exchange programs are more likely to favor them, according to the latest Kentucky Health Issues Poll (KHIP), an annual poll of Kentucky adults about health issues, funded jointly by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky and Interact for Health. Fifty-six percent of Kentucky adults are familiar with needle exchange programs, also known as syringe exchange programs. Forty-nine percent favor the programs, while 43 percent oppose them and eight percent say they are not sure.
Income levels did not affect opinions about needle exchanges—but age did: adults older than 64 were less likely to approve of them.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified 54 Kentucky counties as vulnerable to rapid dissemination of HIV and hepatitis C infection because of intravenous drug use. The foundation’s annual Howard L. Bost Memorial Health Policy Forum will focus on Kentucky’s substance use crisis and the solutions and strategies communities and the state can employ to counteract it.
A copy of the KHIP is available,“2017 Kentucky Health Issues Poll.”.
Contact: Bonnie J. Hackbarth
Phone: 877.326.2583
Email: bhackbarth@healthy-ky.org