Strategies

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

10 Strategies
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Advocacy for victims of intimate partner violence

Work to partner with victims/survivors of intimate partner violence, help them with safety plans, and link them to community services (e.g., legal, housing, financial advice, emergency shelter, etc.)

Evidence Rating:
Insufficient Evidence
  • Community Safety

Career & technical education for high school completion

Provide career and technical education (CTE) as an integrated part of an academic curriculum for students, especially those at risk of dropping out of high school; also called vocational training

Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
  • Education

Child bicycle helmet promotion programs

Promote child bicycle helmet use via bicycle safety education, media campaigns, or provision of free or subsidized helmets

Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
  • Community Safety

Court mandated programs for perpetrators of intimate partner violence

Expand court-referred intimate partner violence offenders’ understanding of abuse, teach alternative reactions, and work to change gender role attitudes; also called batterer intervention programs (BIPs)

Evidence Rating:
Mixed Evidence
  • Community Safety

Helmets in collision sports

Use helmets to absorb, dissipate, and reduce impact forces to an athlete’s head and brain during collisions or falls

Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
  • Community Safety

High school completion programs

Provide supports such as mentoring, counseling, or vocational training, or change the school environment to help students complete high school

Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
  • Education

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

Sports-related concussion education

Educate youth and college athletes, coaches, and parents about the severity of concussions in sports, proper prevention, detection, reporting, and treatment

Evidence Rating:
Insufficient Evidence
  • Community Safety

Youth football full contact rules

Restrict full contact between youth football players via limits to the number of contact practices, head hits per player, delay tackling until a certain age, etc.

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Community Safety