The data were compiled for all counties across the country by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and University of Wisconsin, which have been preparing such reports more than a decade. The report examines more than 30 clinical and social factors that affect residents’ health.
“We consider ‘health outcomes’ a picture of health today in the county,” said Joe Hinton, a researcher with the University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute. “And then ‘health factors,’ we think of that as the prediction of what health might look like in the future.”
With the COVID-19 pandemic having arrived early last year, “We know that our data for mortality and years-of-life-lost will definitely be changed” in next year’s report, he said.
Some details from the report:
- Since 1998, the United States has improved in the area premature deaths, or “years of potential life lost,” dipping from 7,705 years per 100,000 population to 6,907 by the latest measure. But Ohio and Butler County have risen during that period, which is a bad thing. Butler County’s was 9,926, while Ohio’s was 8,545.
- 17 percent of Butler Countians reported being in poor or fair health, below Ohio’s overall rate of 18 percent.
- 21 percent of adults in the county smoke, similar to Ohio’s rate.
- People in the county reported 4.3 poor physical health days during the prior month, above the state’s rate of 4.1 days.
- In 2004, 26 percent of residents were obese. In 2017, the most recent year reported, that rate had swollen to 32 percent.
- 8 percent of infants delivered had low birth weights, below the state’s rate of 9 percent.
- 14 percent of children were living in poverty, lower than the statewide rate of 18 percent. On the other hand, 37 percent of Hispanic children are in poverty, as well as 29 percent of black children.
- Butler County has a good ratio of patients to primary-care doctors, and Butler County’s percentage of completion of high school is slightly better than Ohio’s rate, “and it’s pretty close to the top U.S. performers on that measure,” Hinton said.
Hinton said researchers already know the impact of COVID-19 has been most strongly felt by African-American, Hispanic and Native American populations.
While some measures are improving locally, it’s important not to consider the job completed and letting off the gas, said Kristina Latta-Landefeld of Envision Partnerships, a local non-profit that works to help people live healthy and drug-free lives. Also, while the county has good availability of medical care, people often aren’t using it, often because of poverty, she said.
“We think a great place to focus your attention is on on places where your county isn’t trending in the right direction,” Hinton said. “Those might be places where people want to focus some attention on local health-improvement projects.”
How area counties ranked in Ohio
Here’s how area counties ranked among Ohio’s 88 counties for health outcomes, and health factors:
- Butler — 41st worst for health outcomes; 27th best for health factors;
- Warren — 6th best for health outcomes; 2nd best for health factors;
- Hamilton — 33rd worst for health outcomes; 28th best for health factors;
- Preble — 27th worst for health outcomes; 36th best for health factors;
- Montgomery — 10th worst for health outcomes; 40th worst for health factors.
- Clermont — 25th best for health outcomes; 24th best for health factors.
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