Strategies

What Works for Health includes evidence-informed strategies to create communities where everyone can thrive.

28 Strategies
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Professionally trained medical interpreters

Provide interpretation services for patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) in outpatient and inpatient health care settings, following training and certification

Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
  • Quality of Care

Public reporting of health care quality performance

Make clinician, hospital, clinic, long-term care facility, and insurance plan performance on health care quality measures publicly available via report cards, reporting websites, or similar tools

Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
  • Quality of Care

Recreational marijuana legalization

Allow adults to possess a limited amount of marijuana for personal, non-medical use; often called recreational marijuana laws (RMLs)

Evidence Rating:
Mixed Evidence
  • Alcohol and Drug Use
  • Community Safety

Restorative justice in the criminal justice system

Use victim-offender dialogue to address the harm caused by a crime and victims’ needs; can take place pre-arrest or post sentence via sharing circles, victim-offender mediation, or face-to-face conferences

Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
  • Community Safety

Scared Straight

Organize tours of prison facilities for juvenile delinquents or youth at risk of delinquency and allow them to observe prison life and attend inmates’ presentations; also called juvenile awareness programs

Evidence Rating:
Evidence of Ineffectiveness
  • Community Safety

Summer youth employment programs

Provide short-term employment opportunities for youth, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds

Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
  • Community Safety
  • Employment

Trauma-informed health care

Shift the way health care organizations approach trauma by adopting universal trauma precautions and providing trauma-specific care

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Quality of Care

Universal firearm background checks

Require both licensed firearm dealers and unlicensed (i.e., private) firearm sellers to conduct background checks of potential firearm purchasers; also known as comprehensive background checks

Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
  • Community Safety