The Health Policy Institute of Ohio (HPIO) has released the new Health Value Dashboard fact sheet A Closer Look at Public Health and Prevention.
The fact sheet provides additional information on the public health and prevention metrics included in HPIO’s 2021 Health Value Dashboard, with a focus on state and local public health. Because most Dashboard data was collected prior to 2020, this fact sheet describes the status of public health in Ohio prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The large number of deaths in 2020 caused by COVID-19 and a new surge in overdose deaths indicate major threats to health that further strained the public health system over the past year.
Public health and prevention is one of seven topic areas included in the 2021 Health Value Dashboard. Ohio’s strengths in this area include decreases in opioid prescribing and senior falls. Overall, however, Ohio performed worse than many other states, ranking 32nd out of 50 states and Washington, DC, on an overall ranking of public health and prevention metrics. Public health workforce, funding, and emergency preparedness and response stand out as areas needing improvement.
“From addressing the addiction crisis to combatting infectious disease, public health, and prevention play an important role in ensuring that Ohioans live longer, healthier lives and rely less on clinical care,” according to the fact sheet. “While Ohio has made some improvements in preventing illness and injuries, policymakers and others can take additional actions to strengthen Ohio’s public health system.”