Jobs, economy top priorities for Kentuckians, poll finds; cost of health care, overall health also important

When asked what should be the state's priorities in the next year, more than nine in 10 Kentuckians responded that job creation should be at the top of the list. Heath concerns ranked slightly lower.

The 2011 Kentucky Health Issues Poll, which released the first of its series of findings Tuesday, asked more than 1,600 people, "How important is it to you that the governor and the Kentucky legislature work on each of the following issues in the next year?" Job creation ranked first, with 93 percent.

The vast majority of Kentuckians felt it was also important for policymakers to work on:

• improving Kentucky's economy (91 percent)

• improving K-12 public education (86 percent)

• reducing the cost of health care (85 percent)

• improving the health of Kentuckians (83 percent)

• reducing crime in Kentucky (83 percent)

Other priorities included making government more transparent (67 percent), improving roads and highways (66 percent) and reducing taxes (60 percent).

Regardless of political party, Kentuckians agreed on the relative importance of these policy priorities.

"We understand the challenges our elected officials face in working to meet Kentucky's needs in these difficult economic times," said Susan Zepeda, CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, which helped fund the poll. "We think the Kentucky Health Issues Poll provides valuable insight into the views of the public to help with the hard choices ahead."

In the coming months, the poll will reveal views on statewide smoke-free legislation, prescription-painkiller misuse and gun safety. The poll, which is also funded by The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati, was conducted Sept. 27 to Oct. 27 by the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Cincinnati. A random sample of 1,621 adults across Kentucky were interviewed, including 1,313 landline interviews and 308 cell phone interviews. In 95 of 100 cases, estimates will be accurate to plus or minus 2.5 percent.

Tips for maintaining your weight this holiday season

The average American gains five to seven pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, but maintaining healthful eating habits can help them avoid packing on the weight, diabetes nutrition educator Sheri Setser-Legg, right, writes in the Lexington Herald-Leader.

In the face of overwhelming cheese balls, eggnog and shortbread, she advises you:

• Be realistic. "Don't expect to lose weight during the holiday season," Setser-Legg writes. "Simply maintaining your weight is a sign of success."

• Build in time for exercise, which can also help reduce stress. "Chances are that you have time off work, so develop a regular exercise program or pick up the pace of your current exercise schedule."

• Incorporate healthy dishes into your holiday meal.

• Don't skip meals. "For parties, don't starve yourself in anticipation. You'll likely arrive ravenous and eat everything ... By eating regularly, you are less likely to overindulge."

• Eat only until you are satisfied, not stuffed.

• Have a healthy snack before you attend a holiday party, and keep healthy snacks like fruit, vegetables and cereal bars handy.

• Watch alcohol intake. "Alcohol contains many empty calories and lowers inhibitions, leading to overeating."

• Tell your friends and family you are trying to stay healthy when pressed to try their dishes.

Ultimately, the time is now to start "working toward a happy, healthy 2012," Setser-Legg concludes. (Read more)

Doctors use telemedicine to help patients with dementia, Alzheimer's

Following a nationwide trend, Kentucky doctors are turning to telemedicine to help patients with memory problems such as those associated with Alzheimer's disease and dementia, reports Allison Elliott with the University of Kentucky.

"State-of-the-art memory evaluations should not be limited to persons that are able tom ake the often long and arduous trip to Lexington," said Dr. Greg Jicha, neurologist at UK's Sanders-Brown Center on Aging. "Taking advantage of Internet technologists to bring expert care into even the smallest of rural communities is a blessing for many families across Kentucky that simply cannot bring a loved one with dementia to Lexington.

Several times a month, physicians with the Sanders-Brown Center will connect to patients in clinics throughout the state. Participating clinics include Harlan Appalachian Regional Health; the Hazard Center for Rural Health; T.J. Sampson Hospital in Glasgow; Trover Clinic in Madisonville; Western Baptist Hospital in Paducah; Owensboro Medical Center; and St. Claire Regional Medical Center in Morehead. (Read more)

Remember? State opened its child-abuse records in 1990s

Though it made big, breaking news last week, releasing state records about severe child abuse isn't new in Kentucky, writes Joseph Gerth, right, in a column in The Courier-Journal.

"During Gov. Brereton Jones' term in office from 1991-1995, the state social-work agency released child-fatality reports on its own," he writes. "That came after an earlier tragic death of a child in Wayne County who was beaten to death by his stepfather after numerous contacts with state social workers."

Gerth's column comes after last Tuesday's announcement by Gov. Steve Beshear that he ordered the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to release records pertaining to children who have been killed or nearly killed as a result of abuse or neglect. "Transparency will be the new rule," he said.

Gerth said Beshear "finally gave in to mounting pressure from the media, an angry judge and frustrated legislators to release the records involving the death of a Wayne County toddler who drank drain cleaner that was allegedly being used to produce methamphetamine," Gerth writes. The C-J and the Lexington Herald-Leader had long been suing the cabinet to release documentation pertaining to the case and Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd had twice ruled the cabinet do so.

In the 1990s, it was then-cabinet Secretary Masten Childers II who ordered that child-fatality records be released. "The reports showed that the agency wasn't doing its job and that low-paid social workers were stretched thin and handling too many cases," Gerth writes. "Jones ultimately called for raising the pay for the lowest-paid social workers ... and he called for hiring 60 more social workers across the state. Could it have been that Childers believed more in openness than the current secretary, Janie Miller?" (Read more)

A culture of silence remains about medical errors, but things are slowly improving, physician-activist says

There has been a culture of silence when it comes to talking about medical errors, but things are slowly changing, writes Dr. Kevin Kavanagh, right, in an op-ed piece in the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Kavanagh, who is chairman of Health Watch USA, recalls an incident in which a patient came to be treated for a severe sinus infection. Upon being rushed to surgery, Kavanagh discovered "an old smelly gauze pack" had been left in the sinus from a previous operation. When an assistant asked Kavanagh what he should tell the patient, "I answered, 'The truth'," for which he was disciplined by a senior surgeon.

"Years have passed, and things are starting to change in medicine," Kavanagh writes. "Telling patients that something went wrong is slowly being accepted — a revolutionary idea to medicine."

Studies have shown that hospitals with full-disclosure policies actually have lower patient death rates, which Kavanagh just called "common sense." "If preventable patient harm occurs on a ward and the patient is not told, almost all of the employees on the ward will know about the cover-up," he writes. "How then will the administration garner the respect to effectively oversee the functioning of personnel? If hospital staff are not performing adequately, how do you discharge them when there are skeletons in the closet?"

Full disclosure also lowers malpractice expenses, Kavanagh contends. Stanford University hospitals had a 36 percent drop in malpractice claims and has saved $3.2 million since it adopted a full-disclosure policy in 2007. University of Michigan had a 40 percent drop in new claims and saves $2 million each year.

But full disclosure is not common in Kentucky, despite the Veterans Affairs hospitals in Lexington being the first to implement full disclosure in the country. "Instead of this practice spreading throughout Kentucky, the next health-care system to implement it was the University of Michigan," Kavanagh writes.

Things need to change, especially in the face of superbugs like MRSA. As he looked back at the incident involving the botched sinus surgery, "I am most bothered that I apologized for my actions," Kavanagh writes. "Now I would reserve the words, 'I'm sorry' for the patients who have been harmed." (Read more)

Farmers work long past regular retirement age, and many doctors lack the knowledge to help keep them healthy

"Farmers' stark commitment to work is borderline obsessive, and researchers are beginning to develop new guidelines to better understand farmers, whose strong cultural and emotional ties to the farm drive their work ethic," reports Karin Pekarchik of the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture about a study by the UK College of Nursing's Deborah Reed. Findings show that 40 percent of 1,423 Kentucky and South Carolina farmers aged 50 and over defined health as the "ability to work," causing them to work well after retirement age. Reed told Pekarchik she hopes these results will help medical personnel better understand farming culture so they can better relate to farmers.

"The average Kentucky farmer is 57 – 13 years older than the average worker. Kentucky's farming population mirrors that of the entire United States, making this a nationwide topic," Pekarchik writes. Reed told her most farmers have two jobs and don't list farming as their primary occupation, keeping doctors from screening for things like skin cancer and cataracts, common ailments associated with working outdoors.

Another alarming statistic is that farmers have the highest suicide rates of any occupation, most likely because they're "exposed to unrelenting and multifaceted stress and pressure," Pekarchik writes. The resulting stress from hard physical labor, long work days throughout the year, enduring vagaries of nature and livestock, adverse weather conditions, market fluctuations, government policy changes and family pressure can lead to suicide.

Reed told Pekarchik farmers, even from a young age, should be aware of the physical and mental problems that could ail them later in life. Reed suggests farmers use sunscreen, wear wide-brimmed hats, use hearing protection and wear sturdy shoes and use a walking stick to eliminate falls. (Read more)