'Forensic nursing' idea of online Frontier Nursing University student could help victims of domestic violence in rural areas

Unseen and unspoken, rural victims of domestic violence are more likely to suffer alone because of geographical isolation, lack of medical support networks, and an "everybody knows everybody" small-town culture that can keep victims from asking for help. Leslie Copp (Photo from The Daily Yonder) With the help of a...

Read More

Traveling with diabetes? Here are 10 tips for a safe, pleasant trip

By Tami Ross University of Kentucky Diabetes requires regular self-management and treatment, even on vacation. That’s why it is important to plan ahead to ensure that your next great adventure does not suspend your diabetes management. Photo by Julia Amarai, iStock/ Getty Images Plus Check in with your diabetes care...

Read More

KET panel applauded Kentucky's 5% drop in overdose deaths in 2022, but cited new challenges and remaining difficulties

By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News A panel of survivors, drug-recovery experts and providers lauded Kentucky's 5 percent reduction in drug-overdose deaths between 2021 and 2022 on a Kentucky Educational Television program, "Disrupting Addiction: A KET Forum," but said there is still more work to do.  Host Renee...

Read More

Study finds eating ultra-processed foods boosts calories and weight; manufacturers say they make food more affordable

Everyday Health photo Kentucky Health News "Would you eat food that's been pre--digested?" That's how The Washington Post opened a story that digs deep into how industrial processing changes the structure of food in such a way that it is essentially like eating predigested food. And this, experts say, affects...

Read More

U.S. Senate panel OKs bill to rein in pharmacy benefit managers; Kentucky pharmacist applauds similar efforts by House members

By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News At least one Kentucky pharmacist is applauding the latest efforts to rein in pharmacy benefit managers. PBMs are middlemen that negotiate drug prices with drug manufacturers and pharmacies. They also design prescription-drug benefits for health plans.   Taylor Williams "Fortunately,...

Read More

Red-meat allergy is under-diagnosed, mainly because most clinicians have little working knowledge of it, new studies suggest

Map from CDC research report, adapted by Kentucky Health News; click on it to enlarge. Lone star ticks are the main source. (CDC photo) Kentucky Health News Thousands of Kentuckians are likely living with an allergy to red meat, and many of them probably don't know it because it hasn't been diagnosed in them,...

Read More

Cameron says that if elected governor he would resume efforts, thwarted by federal court, to add work requirement to Medicaid

Attorney General Daniel Cameron Attorney General Daniel Cameron said Wednesday that if elected governor he would quickly restart Republican efforts to "require some able-bodied adults to work in exchange for health-care coverage through Medicaid," Bruce Schreiner writes for The Associated Press. When Republican...

Read More

Tips on managing the costs of cancer treatment

CDC graphic By Charles McCann  University of Kentucky Charles McCann, a former patient financial counselor and current oncology patient navigator at the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center, provides tips on how to manage the costs of cancer treatment in a university press release. He writes:  Managing...

Read More

Weight-loss drugs carry high prices, many questions for seniors

By Judith GrahamKFF Health News Corlee Morris has dieted throughout her adult life. After her weight began climbing in high school, she spent years losing 50 or 100 pounds then gaining it back. Morris, 78, was at her heaviest in her mid-40s, standing 5 feet 10½ inches and weighing 310 pounds. The Pittsburgh resident has had...

Read More

16 of Kentucky's 72 rural hospitals are at risk of closing, 10 of them at immediate risk, a national survey estimates

https://ruralhospitals.chqpr.org/downloads/Rural_Hospitals_at_Risk_of_Closing.pd...

Read More

Excess Covid-19 deaths grew in 2nd year despite vaccines; study cites shortage of rural vaccinations; Ky. fared worst during Delta

By Al Cross Kentucky Health News Scientists generally believe that the number of deaths attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic has been understated, and they point to what they call "excess deaths," the number of deaths above the number that would have been expected if the pandemic hadn't occurred, based on recent trends. A new...

Read More

Libertarians want to repeal 'certificate of need' permit process for health-care facilities, which say it needs reform, not repeal

Kentucky Health News Should Kentucky have a permitting process for health-care facilities or allow free-market competition? Or something in between? The General Assembly has begun debating the question, amid lobbying from a national libertarian group and health-care facilities that say unfettered competition would further...

Read More

'Disrupting Addiction: A KET Forum' premieres Monday, July 24, to discuss the work being done to ease this public-health crisis

Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center map, enhanced by Kentucky Health News Kentucky Health News According to the state's annual Overdose Fatality Report, 2,135 Kentuckians died from a drug overdose in 2022. That was 5 percent fewer than in 2021, but many counties reported an increase in such deaths.  Kentucky...

Read More

State finds several water systems, most on the Ohio, have levels of 'forever chemicals' above a limit being considered by EPA

Kentucky Lantern graph from state data, adapted by Ky. Health News By Liam Niemeyer Kentucky Lantern Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS or “forever chemicals,” are in Kentucky’s rivers and lakes. The chemicals are accumulating inside Kentucky’s fish. They are in municipal water treatment systems,...

Read More

Cameron joins other GOP AGs in challenging Biden rule to block access to medical records of women leaving state for abortions

Attorney General Daniel Cameron By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Attorney General Daniel Cameron joined fellow Republican attorneys general in opposing a proposed federal privacy rule to shield the medical records of patients who get reproductive health care services, such as abortions, in other states. The June...

Read More

Study shows link between intimate partner violence and risk of developing diabetes

People who experience intimate partner violence or the threat of it are much more likely to end up with diabetes, according to a new study published by a University of Kentucky researcher and others. AaronAmat, iStock / Getty Images Plus. By Sarah Ladd Kentucky Lantern People who experience intimate partner violence...

Read More