Data Graphics

September is National Suicide Prevention Month and new data analysis from the Health Policy Institute of Ohio found that mental health challenges increased for high school students in Ohio during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a particularly striking increase among female high school students.

According to data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, Ohio high school teens reported increases from 2019 to 2021 in feeling sad or hopeless, seriously considering suicide, making a plan to attempt suicide, attempting suicide and having a suicide attempt that resulted in being treated by a doctor or nurse.

However, the increases for female teens were drastically higher than for males, as illustrated above. Attempted suicides among female students increased by 148% between 2019 and 2021, compared to a 51% decrease for males. And attempts resulting in treatment from a medical professional increased 33% for females and dropped 81% for males during the same time period.

If you or someone you know needs help, call or text 988 to get in touch with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

Analysis by the Health Policy Institute of Ohio has found that alcohol-involved deaths have continued to increase over the past two decades but have risen dramatically over the last few years (as illustrated above). Alcohol-involved deaths include both deaths caused by long-term alcohol use, such as chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, and acute causes of death, such as alcohol poisoning.

September is designated National Recovery Month and state policymakers can use HPIO’s 2021 brief Health Impacts of Excessive Alcohol Use in Ohio to find a list of evidence-based strategies to reduce excessive alcohol use in Ohio, as well as examples of effective strategies for implementation across sectors. According to the brief, “Decades of research have led to a strong understanding of what works to prevent youth drinking, reduce excessive alcohol use, increase access to addiction treatment and reduce alcohol-impaired driving and alcohol-related violence.”

HPIO’s 2023 Health Value Dashboard found that one way health value in Ohio can be improved is by fostering mental well-being. Ohio leaders can build on lessons learned from the response to the addiction crisis over the past decade to make Ohio a national leader in behavioral health.

Dashboard data shows that rates of overdose deaths and suicides vary by county (as illustrated above). To support resilience, well-being and recovery in Ohio, the state can target and tailor resources where they are needed most.

“Across the U.S. and in Ohio, the toll of behavioral health crises continues to rise, including increases in drug overdose and suicide deaths,” according to the Dashboard. However, the state does have strengths upon which to address the issue. “The state has also improved overall access to care over the past decade, which is an important advantage to getting more Ohioans the help they need.”

HPIO has released a new publication, titled “Strategies to Prevent Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in Ohio: Building Skills and Strengthening Connections to Caring Adults,” that details the state’s progress in implementing policies that prevent adverse childhood experiences.

“Building skills and strengthening connections to caring adults ensures that every child can thrive,” according to the brief. “Enhancing a variety of assets and resources can buffer children and families from the well-documented harmful effects of toxic stress and adversity and promote the ability to withstand, adapt and recover from trauma.”

The brief details policies that enhance skills so that parents and youth can handle stress, manage emotions and tackle everyday challenges and connect youth to caring adults and activities. The brief also highlights examples of strategy implementation in Ohio, informed by key informant interviews, and identifies strengths, gaps and recommendations for each strategy.

There are many evidence-based parent, caregiver and family skills training programs operating throughout the state. For example, in May 2022, the Triple P Online and Teen Triple P Online programs became available free-of-charge to all Ohio families, granting them access to the programs for one year upon enrollment, through a partnership between the Governor’s Children’s Initiative, Ohio Children’s Trust Fund and the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. As of June 4, 2023, 10,656 Ohio parents and caregivers had enrolled in one of the programs. The graphic above shows the number of enrollees in each county.

In 2020 and 2021, HPIO released a series of policy briefs on the health and economic impacts of ACEs and elevated 12 evidence-based, cost-effective strategies (programs, policies and practices) that prevent ACEs before they happen and improve health. This brief is the second publication in a new series examining those strategies. The first brief in the series details how policymakers can ensure a strong start for children and strengthen economic supports for families.

Support for this project was provided by the Harmony Project, the Ohio Children’s Hospital Association and HPIO’s other core funders.

HPIO analysis has found that over the past decade, about 84% of the increase in spending on the Medicaid program in Ohio has been paid from federal funds, with the state accounting for 16% of the increase. As illustrated in the graphic above, between state fiscal years 2012 and 2022, total federal and state spending on Ohio’s Medicaid program grew by an average of 6.7% per year, from about $18.4 billion in SFY 2012 to more than $35 billion in SFY 2022.

The analysis was included in HPIO’s Ohio Medicaid Basics, a primer that provides an overview of the Medicaid program in Ohio. HPIO has released Medicaid Basics every two years since 2005.

The 2023 edition, which was released in May, includes information on Medicaid eligibility, covered groups and services, delivery systems, financing, spending and recent policy and programmatic changes.

New analysis from HPIO has found that in 2021, 88% of Ohio adults reported that all or most of the time during their childhood, they had an adult in their household who made them feel safe and protected (as illustrated in the graphic above). The data will be included in an HPIO policy brief, the second in a series on strategies to prevent adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in Ohio, that is expected to be released in August.

Nurturing and responsive caregivers — and a safe, stable family environment in which basic needs are met — give children a strong foundation. These are powerful protective factors that can decrease substance misuse, mental health problems and violent and risky behaviors in adolescence and later in life. Also, research has shown that having at least one nurturing, stable caregiver can mitigate the negative effects of ACEs.

HPIO has created a recap of its December 2022 forum titled “Preventing ACEs in Ohio: Ensuring a strong start for children and strengthening economic supports for families.”

For several years, HPIO has led the Ohio ACEs Impact project, which is informed by a multi-sector advisory group and includes a number of policy briefs, fact sheets and a resource page to build on and amplify current efforts to address ACEs in Ohio.