CAMBRIDGE, Ohio -- A nationwide study looking at the health outcomes in each county of the United States - including Ohio's 88 counties - shows that more than half of southeastern Ohio counties had worse health outcomes in 2016 than the year before.
The 2017 County Health Rankings study, released earlier this month by the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Robert "Wood" Johnson Foundation, assesses overall health of each county based on the health behaviors and clinical care of its residents, as well as the socio-economic and environmental factors that impact them.
According to the study, central Ohio's Delaware County once again had the best health outcomes in the state of Ohio, while Pike County in southern Ohio had the worst.
About half of the counties in our listening area ranked worse on the health outcomes list in 2016 than they did in 2015. Noble County had the best health outcome in the area, ranking 22nd (41st in 2015). Tuscarawas County ranked 36th (32nd in 2015), statewide, with Washington County at 37th (40th in 2015) in the survey. Monroe County ranked 39th (50th in 2015), Belmont County came in at 56th (51st in 2015) and Coshocton County ranked 60th (55th in 2015). Muskingum County took 63rd in the state (71st in 2015), Harrison County took 67th (59th in 2015) and Guernsey County came in 70th (66th in 2015). Morgan and Jefferson counties ranked 78th and 79th (77th and 81st in 2015, respectively).
Source: University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute
Locally, Noble and Monroe counties saw a dramatic increase in the rankings, while Belmont, Coshocton, Guernsey and Morgan counties saw modest decreases.
Overall, Ohio had a lower percentage of premature deaths than the national average. Ohio also had a much smaller doctor-to-patient ratio for primary care physicians, dentists and mental health providers.
However, Ohio's percentage of driving deaths caused by alcohol impairment and the adult smoking rate were markedly higher than that of the U.S., on the whole. And the incidence of violent deaths in Ohio was nearly 50 percent higher than the national average.
For a closer look at county-by-county health rankings in Ohio and elsewhere, visit the 2017 County Health Rankings study online.