Ohio Public Health Basics 2025

The Health Policy Institute of Ohio's Public Health Basics brief and Public Health Workforce fact sheet offer detailed insights into the state's public health services, workforce and the challenges they encounter. HPIO has also created a one-page "quick facts" document that provides an overview of public health in Ohio.

3 key findings for policymakers

1. Public health initiatives deliver a high return on investment, with every dollar spent yielding an average return of $14 through improved health outcomes, reduced healthcare costs and increased productivity.

2. Investment in public health contributes to better health outcomes for Ohioans, such as improved overall health, lower death rates and reduced healthcare spending.

3. Strengthening Ohio’s public health workforce would ensure effective and consistent delivery of public health services statewide.

What is public health?

We often think about the decisions we make, like whether we go for our annual medical checkups, brush our teeth or exercise, as being the main contributors to our health. We forget or take for granted everything that makes it possible for us to be healthy and avoid illness, such as whether our food and water are safe, we have access to vaccines and know how to avoid health risks. Clinical care influences just 20% of our health outcomes, while the remaining is shaped by health behaviors (30%) and the social, economic and physical environment (50%). This is where public health plays a vital role.

Public health workforce

• The public health workforce is made up of a wide variety of positions, including
• Public health nurses at school-based health centers
• Restaurant inspectors
• Women, Infants and Children (WIC) dietitian nutritionists
• Public health educators teaching diabetes education classes
• Epidemiologist analyzing health and disease trends such as infant mortality and drug overdoses
• Help Me Grow home visitors

In 2021, Ohio Department of Health (ODH) spent $24 per capita on public health, far less than most other states (see below). Overall, Ohio’s investment in public health is lower than many other states at both the state and local levels.

Facts and Figures

Use HPIO graphics and data in your work. To use the data graphics in your presentations, click here to access the slides on Google Drive, click “File” and then “Download.” This will allow the option to download individual slides or the full deck into PowerPoint slides, a jpg, pdf or other available media files.