Kentucky Priority Topic Investments
Click on any of the tabs below to learn more about each topic.
Kentucky Overdose Investment Snapshot
Combatting the current overdose crisis is a priority for the agency. This page provides an overview of the FY21 CDC Injury Center (NCIPC) overdose investments for the state of Kentucky.
There were 91,799 drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2020 (28.3 deaths per 100,000 standard population), a stark 30% increase from 2019. Approximately 75% of drug overdose deaths in 2020 involved an opioid, with synthetic opioids (e.g., illicitly manufactured fentanyls) accounting for more than 80% of all opioid-involved deaths. Drug overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids increased by 55% and deaths involving psychostimulants (e.g., methamphetamine) increased by 47% from 2019 to 2020. Drug overdose deaths involving cocaine also increased by 22%.
In 2020 in Kentucky there were:
2,083
overdose deaths
49.2
overdose deaths per 100,000 people (age-adjusted)
Source: NVSS – Drug Overdose Deaths
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Overdose Data to Action (OD2A)
Public Health and Public Safety
Research
*average award amount |
Examples of How Kentucky Is Working to Prevent Overdose
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Harm reduction education
After learning of negative interactions with law enforcement officers, Kentucky’s OD2A team worked with state harm reduction personnel and law enforcement to ensure officers understood the legality of naloxone and syringe service programs and provided supplies. |
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State and local partnership
Kentucky’s State Department of Health partnered with a county health department to station a mobile harm reduction vehicle at a walk-up/drive-through COVID-19 testing location in a neighborhood with underserved medical access and care. |
CDC Overdose Prevention Strategies
CDC’s Injury Center plays a critical role in addressing the drug overdose epidemic by driving progress in the five strategic priorities that guide CDC’s response framework for preventing overdoses.
Additional Resources
Kentucky ACEs Investment Snapshot
Preventing, identifying, and responding to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) is a priority for the agency. This page provides an overview of the FY21 CDC Injury Center (NCIPC) ACEs investments for the state of Kentucky.
ACEs are preventable, potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood (0-17 years) such as neglect, experiencing or witnessing violence, or having a family member attempt or die by suicide. Across 25 states surveyed in 2019, 61% of adults had at least one ACE and 16% had 4 or more types of ACEs. Preventing ACEs could reduce a large number of health conditions, including up to 21 million cases of depression, 1.9 million cases of heart disease, and 2.5 million cases of overweight/obesity.
Between 2018-2019 in Kentucky:
45.1%
of the population reported experiencing one or more ACEs*
*ACEs statistics are reported by parents and include all reports of ACEs except for child abuse and physical neglect (Source: National Survey on Children’s Health).
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Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS)
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Beyond the ACEs appropriation, CDC supports several initiatives, research, and partnerships to build state and tribal surveillance infrastructure and enhance ACEs prevention and mitigation.
In Kentucky, some of those other initiatives include:
Examples of How Kentucky Is Working to Prevent ACEs
| Surveillance activities
The Kentucky Department of Education is adding questions about experiencing ACEs to the Kentucky YRBS to provide representative state-wide estimates of ACEs for Kentucky public high school students. |
CDC ACEs Prevention and Mitigation Strategies
ACEs and their associated harms are preventable. Creating and sustaining safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments for all children and families can prevent ACEs and help all children reach their full health and life potential. CDC has produced a suite of technical packages to help states and communities take advantage of the best available evidence to prevent violence, including the many types of violence and social, economic, and other exposures in the home and community that adversely affect children.
From this suite of technical packages, CDC developed Preventing ACEs: Leveraging the Best Available Evidence, which outlines six strategies that can prevent ACEs from happening in the first place as well as mitigate the harms of ACEs.
