Data Graphics

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.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and new data analysis from HPIO has found that Ohio ranks 27th for adults with Medicaid coverage who received follow-up care within 30 days of an emergency department visit for mental illness.

Maine had the highest percentage of follow-up care among its Medicaid population with 84.4% of adults with a diagnosis of mental illness who have an ED visit receiving follow-up care within 30 days. West Virginia had the lowest with 12.4%. For more information about the programs included in each state’s data, see Annual Reporting on the Quality of Care for Adults enrolled in Medicaid, Adult Health Quality Measures 2022.

According to the National Committee for Quality Assurance, “Research suggests that follow-up care for people with mental illness is linked to fewer repeat ED visits, improved physical and mental function and increased compliance with follow-up instructions.”

In HPIO’s recently released 2024 Health Value Dashboard, mental well-being was identified as a policy priority for improving health value. The Dashboard suggest the following policy options to drive improvement in Ohio:

• Improve access to telemental health services and reduce existing barriers for patients, such as gaps in insurance coverage and lack of broadband availability.
• Fund programs with evidence of mental health benefits, such as mental health first aid, cross-age youth peer mentoring and trauma-informed schools.
• Improve the behavioral health crisis system, including the 988 lifeline and mobile crisis response, ensuring that these services are adequately funded and available across the state.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and data from the Ohio Department of Health shows that Ohio students who experience more adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are less likely to have social connections, an important protective factor that can buffer children and families from the well-documented harmful effects of toxic stress and adversity and contribute to better overall mental health.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “When people are socially connected and have stable and supportive relationships, they are more likely to make healthy choices and to have better mental and physical health outcomes. They are also better able to cope with hard times, stress, anxiety, and depression.”

As illustrated above, just one in four Ohio students with four or more ACEs reported feeling like they could most of the time or always talk to an adult in their life about their feelings. About three in four students with no ACEs reported having a trusted adult to whom they could talk. Students with more ACEs were also less likely to report having a trusted friend.

As part of its ongoing ACEs work, last year HPIO released a policy brief on building skills and strengthening connections to caring adults. “Increasing these protective factors can lead to stronger families, better health, educational and employment outcomes and benefits to society at large,” the brief stated.

The Health Policy Institute of Ohio has released a new toolkit designed to provide partners with information about how to use evaluation to move towards equity.

Each section of “Moving Toward Equity: An Evaluation Toolkit,” covers a different element of evaluation, including information on how to tie evaluation into every step of assessment, planning, implementation and continuous quality improvement processes.

“There is much still to be done to ensure Ohioans of color, LGBTQ+ Ohioans, Ohioans with disabilities, Ohioans with low incomes, Ohioans living in urban, rural and Appalachian areas, and others can thrive in our state,” the toolkit states.

For example, HPIO’s 2024 Health Value Dashboard shows that Black and Hispanic Ohio children are much more likely to experience food insecurity than their white peers (as displayed above).

“An important part of this work is to evaluate and measure if our efforts to achieve equity are successful,” the toolkit states. “Evaluation tells us if what we’re doing is making a difference. It gives us the information needed to understand where we need to change, refocus or intensify our approaches. Perhaps more importantly, evaluation is also a process that can build trust, collaboration and accountability.”

The toolkit includes guidance, tools and resources on:

• Setting the stage for evaluation through assessment and planning
• Equitable approaches to evaluation
• Developing an equitable evaluation plan
• Using evaluation results for continuous quality improvement
• Collecting data for evaluation

The Toolkit is for anyone who is dedicated to advancing equity, passionate about achieving results and committed to stewarding resources. Tools are located in a separate workbook that is meant to be interactive and fillable, and can be accessed on the publication page.