Data Graphics

The Health Policy Institute of Ohio has released a new brief titled “Criminal Justice and Health: Social Drivers of Violent Crime.”

The latest in a series of publications on the link between criminal justice and health, the brief includes:

• Data and information on the structural and social drivers of violence, including racism, income inequality, neighborhood planning, gendered social norms, education and employment, health care, housing and criminal justice.
• Recently passed or proposed state-level policy changes that may have an impact on community violence.
• A set of evidence-informed policy recommendations and implementation examples that Ohio can leverage to drive improvement.

Ohio ranks 34th in the nation in homicide deaths. Like national trends, homicide in Ohio peaked during the COVID-19 pandemic, but has not returned to pre-pandemic rates, as illustrated above.

“Even with laws and penalties such as arrest and incarceration in place, violent crime persists and causes significant harm to victims and communities,” the report states. “Community conditions and societal structures can support or prevent violent crime. Since the research evidence is clear that arrests and incarceration are detrimental to the health of individuals, families and communities, it is important to take an upstream approach for violence prevention.”

Last month, HPIO has released a new publication titled “2024 Health Value Dashboard Data Brief: What’s Driving the Trend on Early Death?”

Using data from the 2024 Health Value Dashboard, the brief explores the experiences and environments that lead to deaths among working-age Ohioans (ages 15-64) and provides a set of policies to drive improvement.

Previous HPIO analysis of death trends among working-age Ohioans found that Ohioans between the ages of 15 and 64 are dying at a much higher rate than they were 15 years ago. As illustrated above, Cancer is the only leading cause of death that decreased for this age group since 2007. Unintentional injuries, including unintentional drug overdoses and motor vehicle crashes, increased the most over the last 15 years among the leading causes of death.

Data from the recently released 2024 Dashboard shows four factors that are driving this trend:

• Addiction and overdose
• Alcohol overuse
• Tobacco use
• Violence and firearms

The Health Policy Institute of Ohio has released a new brief titled, “Taking Action to Prevent Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in Ohio.”

The brief is a summary of the information and resources available through HPIO’s Ohio ACEs Impact Project. It also includes guidance for local and state partners working to elevate ACEs prevention policies or program interventions.

In addition to the policy brief, HPIO has also created standalone resources with guidance on choosing ACEs prevention strategies, coalition-building and advocacy.

Since 2020, the Health Policy Institute of Ohio (HPIO) has researched and analyzed adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and what Ohio can do to address them. HPIO analysis elevated 12 evidence-informed and cost-effective ACEs prevention strategies for public and private partners at the state and local level, as illustrated above. These represent a comprehensive and strategic approach to preventing ACEs in Ohio.

As national celebrations begin for Pride Month, HPIO analysis of data on LGBTQ+ youth shows that large disparities exist in poor mental health and suicide attempts, compared to heterosexual teens, although community support can play a key role in reducing those numbers.

Gay, lesbian and bisexual youth in Ohio are 2.2 times more likely to report poor mental health and 4.6 times more likely to report a suicide attempt in the past 12 months, as illustrated above. However, national data from the Trevor Project shows that LGBTQ+ young people who reported living in very accepting communities attempted suicide at half the rate of those who live in very unaccepting communities.

HPIO’s 2024 Health Value Dashboard includes an equity profile for LGBTQ+ Ohioans. The Dashboard found that homophobia and transphobia are primary drivers of poor outcomes experienced by LGBTQ+ Ohioans of all ages. Experiencing these forms of discrimination can cause toxic stress, leading to poor health outcomes over time. Thus, LGBTQ+ Ohioans often experience worse outcomes than heterosexual and/or cisgender Ohioans across measures of health and the social environment. Policies and practices that limit access to necessary health care and a lack of protections for Ohioans based on sexual orientation and gender identity contribute to worse health outcomes for LGBTQ+ people compared to their heterosexual and/or cisgender peers.

There are evidence-informed strategies that Ohio leaders can adopt to improve health disparities for LGBTQ+ Ohioans. By ensuring access to developmentally appropriate care, improving provider education and including sexual orientation and gender identity in anti-discrimination laws, Ohio can create more accepting communities and close gaps in health outcomes for LGBTQ+ Ohioans.

The Health Policy Institute of Ohio has released a new publication titled “2024 Health Value Dashboard Data Brief: What’s Driving the Trend on Early Death?”. 

Using data from the 2024 Health Value Dashboard, the brief explores the experiences and environments that lead to deaths among working-age Ohioans (ages 15-64) and provides a set of policies to drive improvement.

Previous HPIO analysis of death trends among working-age Ohioans found that Ohioans between the ages of 15 and 64 are dying at a much higher rate than they were 15 years ago, as illustrated above. Data from the recently released 2024 Dashboard shows four factors that are driving this trend:

• Addiction and overdose
• Alcohol overuse
• Tobacco use
• Violence and firearms

“The biggest increases in the leading causes of death for Ohioans ages 15-64 are in unintentional injuries (including overdose deaths), chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, homicide, suicide and chronic lower respiratory diseases,” the brief states. “The experiences and environments driving these trends can be exacerbated by systemic challenges, including a lack of economic opportunity and experiences of discrimination.”

The data brief also includes 10 policy options for state and local leaders to improve health, advance equity and ensure that more working-age Ohioans reach their full potential.

May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month and HPIO analysis of Census Bureau data found that Asian Ohioans come from 38 ancestries, and more than 193,000 Ohioans live in a household that speaks an Asian or Pacific Islander language.

When considering Ohio’s Asian population, it is important to acknowledge its vast diversity. According to the Pew Research Center, “The largest Asian origin groups in the U.S. differ significantly by income, education and other characteristics. These differences highlight the wide diversity of the … Asian population and provide a counterpoint to the ‘model minority’ myth and the description of the population as monolithic.”

HPIO’s recently released 2024 Health Value Dashboard includes, for the first time, an equity profile on Asian Americans. While the profile highlights that that Asian Ohioans collectively experience worse outcomes than white Ohioans across measures of healthcare access and the physical and social environment, it also highlights that different groups within the population experience different outcomes.

“Collecting and grouping these diverse communities together can mask disparities and the underlying challenges experienced by specific groups,” according to the Dashboard. “For example, while Asian Americans, as a group, may perform well on certain indicators, existing data on groups from Southeast Asia and Bhutanese and Nepali refugees suggest that these communities experience poorer outcomes. Oversampling when collecting data can help ensure that data is representative, especially for groups with smaller population sizes, and allow for more meaningful disaggregation.”

The 30th Annual Columbus Asian Festival, one of the largest Asian festivals in the U.S., will celebrate the diversity of the Asian community this weekend (May 25-26) at Franklin Park in Columbus.