Data Graphics

In just a few days, Ohio State will face that team up north in The Game.

Once again this year, OSU and Michigan are neck-and-neck in the College Football Playoff rankings, with the Buckeyes holding a slight edge.

On health value, though, Michigan ranks better than Ohio. HPIO’s 2023 Health Value Dashboard found that Ohioans spend more on healthcare and have worse health outcomes than Michiganders.

So how can the Buckeye state improve?

Just like in football, teamwork, focus and hard work pay off. We all need to work together to improve health by building on Ohio’s many assets. Ohio can:

• Support and strengthen the workforce, leveraging recent success in attracting employers in high-growth industries
• Foster mental well-being by supporting resilience and recovery across the state
• Reinvigorate approaches to improving outcomes and controlling unnecessary healthcare spending

If leaders in the public and private sector work together, Ohio can be a national leader in health value, just like the Buckeyes are on the football field.

New analysis from the Health Policy Institute of Ohio found that the number of firearm-involved deaths among Ohio children increased sharply in recent years, as illustrated above.

According to data from the Ohio Department of Health’s Ohio Public Health Data Warehouse, there were 104 deaths involving a firearm of children ages 0-17 in Ohio in 2022, or a rate of 4.05 deaths per 100,000 children. That is more than double the rate of 2007, when the death rate was 1.76 per 100,000 Ohio children.

What Works for Health, an online tool developed by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute to identify evidence-informed health policies, includes a number of potential options that local and state leaders can consider to increase firearm safety for children.

Last month, HPIO released a new Data Snapshot that highlights the prevalence in Ohio of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) — potentially traumatic events that occur during childhood.

Exposure to ACEs —is a pervasive problem affecting many children in Ohio and across the country. ACEs exposure contributes to poor health and well-being throughout life, including disrupted neurodevelopment, social and emotional challenges, disease, disability and premature death.

The analysis found that the risk for developing poor health outcomes associated with ACEs increases in proportion to the number of ACEs to which a person is exposed. For example, as illustrated above, Ohioans who have been exposed to two or more ACES are almost twice as likely to report being a current smoker than people who did not experience any ACEs.

Starting in 2020, HPIO released a series of policy briefs on the health and economic impacts of ACEs and elevated 12 evidence-informed, cost-effective strategies (program, policies and practices) that can prevent ACEs.

In May, HPIO released the fifth edition of its biennial Health Value Dashboard. The 2023 Dashboard found that Ohio ranks 44th in the nation in health value, a combination of population health and healthcare spending. This means that Ohioans are less healthy and spend more on health care than people in most other states.

The Dashboard identified specific areas of strength on which Ohio can build to create opportunities for improved health value in the state. One of those areas is strengthening Ohio’s workforce and reducing poverty by building upon recent success in attracting employers in high-growth industries.

Ohio’s workforce is facing serious challenges. As illustrated below, deaths among working-age Ohioans have increased over the last 15 years as labor force participation continues its long-term decline, with Ohio falling behind most other states (For more information, see HPIO’s updated data snapshot “Death Trends among Working-age Ohioans”).

However, the state’s strong manufacturing base, strategic location and educational infrastructure has attracted major employers, such as Intel, Honda, Ford and LG Energy Solutions, to invest in the state in the past few years. Ohio is home to 200 corporate headquarters, 14 public universities and 23 community colleges. Further building upon these strengths can lead to a robust workforce that meets the needs of employers, re-invigorates local communities and increase earnings, which will, in turn, reduce poverty and improve health.

Analysis from Healthy Democracy Healthy People (HDHP), a nonpartisan initiative of national public health and civic engagement organizations, has found a two-way relationship between voting and community health.

“When we’re healthier, we’re more likely to vote. And communities that vote experience better health,” according to HDHP.

HDHP has developed a Health and Democracy Index, which compares public health indicators and voter turnout to restrictiveness of state voting policies. The analysis found that states with more inclusive voting policies and greater levels of civic participation tend to be healthier.

As illustrated above, the Index places Ohio among a group of states with worse health outcomes than other states and also more restrictive voting policies.

“Democracy makes our communities more inclusive and healthier,” according to HDHP. “Our votes affect health policy, clean air, housing, transit and funding for hospitals. Voting also helps people secure a seat at the table and feel more included within their communities.

As Ohioans prepare for the Nov. 7 election, HPIO has created online resource pages for State Issue 1 and State Issue 2.

• State Issue 1 would amend the Ohio Constitution to establish a state constitutional right to “make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions,” including decisions about abortion, contraception, fertility treatment, miscarriage care and continuing pregnancy.
• State Issue 2 would change Ohio law to legalize and regulate recreational marijuana for adults aged 21 and above.

In keeping with its status as an independent and nonpartisan organization, HPIO regularly creates resource pages to make information on the health impact of relevant statewide ballot issues easily accessible to voters.

To learn more about voting in Ohio, visit voteohio.gov.

HPIO has released a new Data Snapshot that highlights the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in Ohio, displays differences in exposure to ACEs for groups of Ohioans and shows how ACEs connect to poor health outcomes.

Exposure to ACEs — potentially traumatic events that occur during childhood — is a pervasive problem affecting many children in Ohio and across the country. ACEs exposure contributes to poor health and well-being throughout life, including disrupted neurodevelopment, social and emotional challenges, disease, disability and premature death.

In 2021, nearly two thirds of Ohio adults reported having been exposed to ACEs, and nearly half of all adults reported being exposed to two or more ACEs, as illustrated above.

Starting in 2020, HPIO released a series of policy briefs on the health and economic impacts of ACEs and elevated 12 evidence-informed, cost-effects strategies (program, policies and practices) that can prevent ACEs.