The Indiana University PPI report explores the loss of public trust in institutions and the impact on the future of the nation’s democratic system. Adobe Stock photo provided by INNS.

By Joe Ulery
Indiana News Service

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana voters have a new resource for making informed choices in the upcoming election.

The Indiana University Public Policy Institute has released the final three reports in its Decision 2024: Your Voices, Your Future series. The reports cover health care, community resilience and declining public trust.

Tom Guevara, the institute’s director, said Indiana’s health-care challenges include high rates of food insecurity, uninsured individuals and opioid addiction.

“Of course it’s something that’s particularly onerous in rural areas,” he said, “and then, maternal and child health is one that we see a lot of disparities, particularly for people of color.”

Indiana’s infant mortality rate of 7.2 deaths per 1,000 births is higher than the national average of 5.4. Guevara said it’s a sign of broader disparities in maternal and child health care, and called for better preventive-care access statewide.

The community resilience report assesses Indiana’s preparedness for issues such as climate change and economic disruptions. Guevara emphasized the importance of proactive planning and infrastructure upgrades to bolster resilience, particularly with rising temperatures and droughts on the horizon.

“I think when you think about resiliency,” he said, “we can just think about it simply as when we experience an adverse event, how quickly can we as individuals and as a community bounce back from that.”

In the final report, Guevara addressed declining public trust in institutions, warning that it weakens democracy and crisis response efforts. He stressed the need for greater transparency and accountability to restore public confidence. The reports and related forum videos are available online.