Strategies

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

97 Strategies
Clear all

Alcohol access restrictions in public places

Restrict alcohol availability and use at sporting events, other public events (e.g., concerts and street fairs) and in public spaces such as parks and beaches

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Alcohol and Drug Use

Alcohol advertising restrictions

Restrict the content and placement of alcohol advertisements on broadcasts, outdoor displays, internet marketing, etc. via state laws, local ordinances, industry self-regulation, or a combination of efforts

Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
  • Alcohol and Drug Use

Alcohol days of sale restrictions

Limit the days alcohol can be sold in on-premise settings such as bars and restaurants or in off-premise outlets such as liquor and convenience stores; sometimes with limits to times of sale

Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
  • Alcohol and Drug Use

Baby bonds

Establish publicly funded investment accounts for every newborn, accessible at age 18

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Income

Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS)

Match disadvantaged or at-risk youth with volunteer mentors in school or community settings

Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
  • Community Safety
  • Education

Bridge programs for hard-to-employ adults

Provide basic skills (e.g., reading, math, writing, English language, or soft skills) and industry-specific training with other supports; also called occupationally contextualized basic education programs

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Education
  • Employment

Campus alcohol bans

Restrict alcohol consumption anywhere on a college or university campus or only in specific areas (e.g., residence halls)

Evidence Rating:
Insufficient Evidence
  • Alcohol and Drug Use

Career pathways programs

Provide occupation-specific training for low-skilled individuals in high-growth industries, with education and supports, usually with stackable credentials and work experience opportunities

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Employment

Certificates of employability

Issue certificates of employability to individuals with criminal convictions who have met pre-specified standards of rehabilitation; also called certificates of relief, reentry, good conduct, rehabilitation, recovery, etc.

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Employment

Child development accounts

Build assets through child development accounts (CDAs) with contributions from a sponsoring organization, such as government agencies or nonprofits, and family, friends; also called children’s savings accounts (CSAs)

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Income
  • Education

Child tax credit expansion

Expand federal or state child tax credits by increasing credit amounts, making credits refundable, decreasing or eliminating the earnings threshold, or creating a fully refundable supplement

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Income

Community arts programs

Support locally-based visual, media, and performing arts initiatives for children and adults; also called participatory arts programs

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Family and Social Support

Community centers

Provide space to promote socializing among community members and offer programs and services such as recreational or educational activities, counseling or support services

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Family and Social Support

Comprehensive school reform

Implement a coordinated effort to overhaul school operation, integrating curriculum, instruction, professional development, parent involvement, classroom and school management; also called school-wide or whole school reform

Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
  • Education

Crisis lines

Provide free and confidential counseling and service referrals via telephone-based conversation, web-based chat, or text message to individuals in crisis, particularly those with severe mental health concerns

Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
  • Family and Social Support

Cross-age youth peer mentoring

Establish an ongoing relationship between an older youth or young adult and a younger child or adolescent, usually an elementary or middle school student

Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
  • Family and Social Support

DARE to be You

Provide education and training sessions with parent-child activities and family meals for youth, parents, and care providers

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Education

Debt advice for tenants with unpaid rent

Offer debt advice from trained providers to tenants with unpaid, overdue rent to help repay debt and increase financial literacy

Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
  • Income
  • Housing and Transit

Designated driver promotion programs

Encourage use of designated drivers via population-based mass media campaigns, incentive programs based in drinking establishments, and other efforts

Evidence Rating:
Insufficient Evidence
  • Alcohol and Drug Use

Drink special restrictions

Limit or ban alcohol establishments from serving alcohol at a reduced price as part of promotions; also called happy hour restrictions

Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
  • Alcohol and Drug Use

E-cigarette regulations

Regulate use of e-cigarettes via age, sales and marketing restrictions, expanded smoke-free air policies in public and private worksites and designated spaces, etc.

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Tobacco Use

Employee Assistance Programs (EAP)

Provide confidential worksite-based counseling and referrals to employees to address personal and workplace challenges

Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
  • Employment
  • Family and Social Support

Father involvement programs

Support fathers’ active involvement in child rearing via various father-focused or family-focused interventions

Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
  • Family and Social Support

Financial education for adults

Provide education on basic budgeting, bank use, credit management, bankruptcy, credit building and counseling, homeownership, retirement, divorce, etc.

Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
  • Income

Georgia Fatherhood Program

Provide employment-based services for non-custodial fathers who pay child support and experience a job loss or a decrease in income

Evidence Rating:
Insufficient Evidence
  • Family and Social Support

Good Samaritan drug overdose laws

Provide immunity from arrest, charges, or prosecution for drug possession or paraphernalia when individuals experiencing or witnessing drug overdose summon emergency services

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Alcohol and Drug Use

Grocery, housing & utilities cooperatives

Establish a non-share capital cooperative model in which fee-paying members can share the communal resources of a grocery, house, or utility cooperative

Evidence Rating:
Insufficient Evidence
  • Family and Social Support

Healthy Families America (HFA)

Provide home visiting services to families who are at risk for adverse childhood experiences, starting prenatally or right after birth and continuing for three to five years

Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
  • Family and Social Support

High school equivalency credentials

Offer programs to help individuals without a high school diploma or its equivalent achieve a high school equivalency credential

Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
  • Education
  • Employment

HighScope Perry Preschool model

Provided high quality preschool with home visiting to African-American children from families with low incomes with an emphasis on active learning in Ypsilanti, Michigan

Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
  • Education

Housing reparations

Apologize for discriminatory housing policies; increase subsidies, financing, and paths to homeownership for people of color; and invest in systematically disadvantaged neighborhoods

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Income
  • Housing and Transit

Individual Development Accounts (IDAs)

Support subsidized asset accumulation programs in which deposits by participants with low and moderate incomes are matched by program sponsors; withdrawals must be used for qualified expenses to retain matching funds

Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
  • Income

Intergenerational communities

Establish policies, plans, and programs that meet the needs of all residents of a community, especially children and older adults, and promote interaction and cooperation between individuals of different generations

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Family and Social Support

Intergenerational mentoring and activities

Establish a relationship between an older adult and a child, adolescent, or college student through social interactions or a variety of educational and art activities

Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
  • Family and Social Support

Job-sharing programs

Offer flexible working arrangements, allowing the duties of a single full-time position to be covered by two part-time employees

Evidence Rating:
Insufficient Evidence
  • Employment

Keg registration laws

Require wholesalers or retailers to record an identification number for beer kegs and a purchaser’s information (e.g., name and address, date of birth, etc.) at the time of purchase

Evidence Rating:
Insufficient Evidence
  • Alcohol and Drug Use

Land return for tribal restitution

Return the rights to land, property, and resources to Native people as part of policies and initiatives that promote tribal sovereignty

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Income
  • Family and Social Support

Living wage laws

Establish locally mandated wages that are higher than state or federal minimum wage levels

Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
  • Income

Mass media campaigns against alcohol-impaired driving

Use mass media campaigns to persuade individuals to avoid drinking and driving or to prevent others from doing so; campaigns often focus on the negative consequences of alcohol-impaired driving

Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
  • Alcohol and Drug Use

Mass media campaigns against underage drinking

Use television, radio, print, and social media efforts to increase awareness of underage drinking and its consequences

Evidence Rating:
Insufficient Evidence
  • Alcohol and Drug Use

Matched dollar incentives for saving tax refunds

Support programs that provide matched dollar incentives for low or moderate income individuals to place some or all of their tax refund in a savings account

Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
  • Income

Medication-assisted treatment access enhancement initiatives

Provide medications such as methadone to individuals diagnosed with opioid use disorder in outpatient, residential, and hospital settings, usually with counseling and behavioral therapies; often called MAT

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Alcohol and Drug Use

Mental Health First Aid

Provide an 8 or 12 hour training to educate laypeople about how to assist individuals with mental health problems or at risk for problems such as depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders

Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
  • Family and Social Support

Microfinance & microenterprise

Support programs that provide small loans, usually to individuals with lower incomes, to start or expand a small business, often with business development training and other technical assistance

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Income

National Fatherhood Initiative's 24/7 Dad

Help men improve their parenting skills and fathering knowledge via a voluntary, comprehensive fatherhood program

Evidence Rating:
Insufficient Evidence
  • Family and Social Support

National Fatherhood Initiative's InsideOut Dad

Connect incarcerated fathers to their families and prepare them for release via small group education sessions that address fathering knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors

Evidence Rating:
Insufficient Evidence
  • Family and Social Support

Neighborhood associations

Establish voluntary formal groups of residents who work together to create a unified voice, enhance living conditions in their neighborhood, and address neighborhood concerns

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Family and Social Support

New Hope Project

Provided work supports for low income individuals and families (e.g., job search assistance, transitional jobs, subsidized child care, health insurance, etc.); participants worked at least 30 hours/week

Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
  • Income