NEW HPIO data brief explores Ohio COVID-19 disparities by race

The Health Policy Institute of Ohio has released a new data brief, "Ohio COVID-19 disparities by race."

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that COVID-19 is disproportionately impacting communities of color in the U.S. As of May 16, 2020, 265 black/African-American, 23 Hispanic/Latino and 11 Asian-American Ohioans died with COVID-19. 

Current data suggests that the impact of COVID-19 on black/African-American Ohioans is far reaching. This brief provides data on:

• COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths among black/African-American and white Ohioans relative to their proportions of the state population 
• All-cause mortality in 2018 (most recently-available year) compared to COVID-19 mortality in 2020 among black/African-American Ohioans
• COVID-19 deaths in 2020 compared to leading causes of death in 2018 among black/African-American Ohioans

At today’s COVID-19 press conference, Gov. Mike DeWine highlighted the COVID-19 racial disparities in Ohio (source: “DeWine shares Minority Health Strike Force recommendations,” Cleveland Jewish News, May 21) and announced that the state has added a new interactive tool to its coronavirus dashboard to sort data by race and ethnicity and also added an Ohio Opportunity Index map that displays local information on seven factors (transportation, education, employment, housing, health, access and crime) that impact health and wellbeing.

The Governor’s Minority Health Taskforce is expected to release recommendations soon to address long-term disparities in health, DeWine said. He also announced that the state will hire a deputy director of Social Determinants of Health and Opportunity within the Ohio Department of Health.

To learn more about health disparities in Ohio, see the Health Policy Institute of Ohio’s 2019 Health Value Dashboard, which includes equity profiles for Ohioans based on race/ethnicity, disability status, education and income.