Cleveland residents are two to three times more likely to report having unmet basic needs — like job and food insecurity — than other Ohioans, according to a citywide health survey released Monday.
The survey of 1,497 Cleveland adults, conducted by Case Western Reserve University researchers, also found city residents suffer from high rates of depression and are more likely to forgo medical care because of costs, even when insured, compared with their state and national counterparts.
Dr. David Margolius, director of public health, said those factors are directly tied to the poor health outcomes the city is experiencing.
“What we found is we line up exactly where our rate of poverty is," Margolius said. "Cleveland's rate of poverty, unfortunately, is one of the highest in the nation of big cities, due to a lot of extracted wealth (resources from communities, redlining) and people fleeing for the suburbs and other states."
There were a few silver linings in the report. The city overall is reporting lower rates of obesity and chronic disease than in past years, Margolius said.
“There's a really dramatic reduction and smoking rate in the city of Cleveland down to 19.6% from 35%, which we're really grateful for," Margolius said, though it's unclear how much of that decrease is related to a rise in vaping nicotine.
He said the survey data will help policy makers, health care providers and community organizations develop targeted interventions for mental health and chronic diseases.
