Poll: Where do Kentuckians stand on needle exchange programs?

“More than 50 needle exchange programs are operating in Kentucky, helping to reduce the chances of hepatitis C or HIV outbreaks that can put everyone in a community at risk,” said Dr. Brent Wright, associate dean for rural health innovation at the University of Louisville. Dr. Wright also is treasurer of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky’s board of directors. “These programs also remove dangerous used needles from the community, and can give participants access to vaccinations, substance use disorder treatment, overdose prevention information and disease screening,” he said.

The stigma of drug use and addiction can often lead to opposition for needle exchanges and other harm-reduction strategies, the Foundation said.

Ben Chandler, Foundation president and CEO, said, “Needle exchange programs are about community safety and connecting people to treatment. They don’t lead to higher drug use, and they don’t lead to more crime in the communities where they’re located. We can’t let false perceptions stand in the way of a proven strategy to help deal with Kentucky’s opioid and meth crises.”

Opinion in Kentucky has remained steady since the last time KHIP included the needle exchange questions in 2016. There was, however, a nine-percentage point reduction in opposition to needle exchange programs, from 50 percent to 41 percent, among Kentucky adults who felt they were not very familiar with such programs.

A copy of the KHIP reportis available here. For more information about needle exchange programs and a list of program locations in Kentucky, visit the Kentucky Department for Public Health website here.