Colorado has one of the highest suicide rates in the nation, at 20.9 per 100,000 in 2023. Of the state’s 940 gun deaths that year, nearly 72% were by suicide.…
Tag: Colorado
Balancing kratom’s potential benefits and risks − new legislation in Colorado seeks to minimize harm
David Bregger had never heard of kratom before his son, Daniel, 33, died in Denver in 2021 from using what he thought was a natural and safe remedy for anxiety.…
Children living near oil and gas wells face higher risk of rare leukemia, studies show
Acute lymphocytic leukemia is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in children, although it is rare. It begins in the bone marrow and rapidly progresses. Long-term survival rates exceed…
Colorado’s fentanyl criminalization bill won’t solve the opioid epidemic, say the people most affected
Colorado passed the Fentanyl Accountability and Prevention Bill in May 2022. The legislation made the possession of small amounts of fentanyl a felony, rather than a misdemeanor. Felonies are more…
More Colorado workplaces are becoming safe places for employees in recovery
At Odie B’s, a sandwich shop in Denver, recovery from drug and alcohol use is part of daily operations. “Seventy percent of our staff is active in recovery,” Cliff Blauvelt,…
Hotter and drier climate in Colorado’s San Luis Valley contributes to kidney disease in agriculture workers, new study shows
Heat and humidity contributed to kidney damage and disease in the San Luis Valley in Colorado between 1984 and 1998, according to our recently published work in the peer-reviewed journal…
Colorado’s early childhood education workers face burnout and health disparities, but a wellness campaign could help
A lot of research has been done on the outcomes of young children who receive care in early education programs across the country. High-quality early childhood education programs positively shape…
Housing instability complicates end-of-life care for aging unhoused populations
Research estimates that one-third or more of the unhoused population in the U.S. is age 50 or older. Unhoused people of all ages face high rates of chronic and serious…
Lowering the cost of insurance in Colorado – a new analysis of the Peak Health Alliance
A community-led partnership in Colorado designed to negotiate health care prices lowered health care premiums in 2020 and 2021, we find in our new paper in the Journal of Risk…
Colorado and other states have expanded access to abortion, but not for adolescents
Since 2022, Colorado and 10 other states have passed voter initiatives to protect or expand abortion access. Yet, seven of these states, including Colorado, require people under the age of…
