Strategies

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

116 Strategies
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Proper drug disposal programs

Establish programs that accept expired, unwanted, or unused medicines from designated users and dispose of them responsibly

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Alcohol and Drug Use
  • Air and Water Quality

Public deliberations

Bring people with diverse values and perspectives together to engage in facilitated, inclusive, and informed dialogues about a topic of public concern. Examples include Citizens’ Initiative Reviews, deliberative polling, citizen juries, and citizen’s assemblies.

Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
  • Family and Social Support

Public libraries for community building

Lend materials, offer gathering space, and provide educational, civic, and social programming; open to the community and publicly funded

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Family and Social Support

Rain barrels

Use ready-made or home constructed barrel systems to collect and store rainwater from rooftops that would otherwise flow to storm drains and streams

Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
  • Air and Water Quality

Raise the Age

Increase the minimum and/or maximum age boundaries for youth to be processed in the juvenile justice system

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Community Safety

Refundable child and dependent care tax credit

Offer a refundable tax credit to working families with qualifying children or other dependents that receive care outside the home (e.g., a spouse with disabilities)

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Income

Restaurant nutrition labeling

Provide nutrition information on menus and signboards at restaurants and other food outlets

Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
  • Diet and Exercise

School food & beverage restrictions

Limit access to competitive foods and beverages in schools via restrictions on foods that are not provided through the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program.

Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
  • Diet and Exercise

School fundraiser restrictions

Prohibit the sale of unhealthy foods such as sugar sweetened beverages, candy, and other non-nutritious snacks at school fundraisers, often as part of a broader nutrition policy

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Diet and Exercise