Strategies

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

245 Strategies
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Universal basic income

Provide all individuals with regular cash transfers, without conditions, over their lifetimes
Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion

Community Conditions

  • Income, employment and wealth

Societal Rules

  • Laws and policies
  • Worldviews, culture and norms

Universal motorcycle helmet laws

Require all motorcycle operators and passengers to wear a helmet; laws are established statewide and may also include mopeds and scooters
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Safety and social support

Societal Rules

  • Laws and policies

Urban agriculture

Support food-producing and income-earning activities in urban environments (e.g., edible landscapes, front yard or rooftop gardens, window farming, hydroponics, livestock, etc.)
Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion

Community Conditions

  • Diet and exercise
  • Climate
  • Civic and community resources

Value-based insurance design

Create financial incentives or remove financial disincentives to affect consumer choices and incentivize provision of cost efficient health care services
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Clinical care

Societal Rules

  • Institutional practices

Voter registration initiatives

Increase the number of registered voters through initiatives that reduce barriers and expand accessibility, including automatic voter registration (AVR), voter registration drives, easing voter registration requirements, and expanding registration sites
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Civic and community resources

Societal Rules

  • Laws and policies
  • Governance

Voter turnout initiatives

Increase voter turnout through get-out-the-vote campaigns and initiatives to make voting more convenient such as allowing early in-person voting, vote-by-mail, or expanding polling locations and hours
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Civic and community resources

Societal Rules

  • Governance

Walking school buses

Arrange active transportation with a fixed route, designated stops, and pick up times when children can walk to school with adult chaperones
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Housing and transportation
  • Diet and exercise
  • Climate

Water availability & promotion interventions

Make water readily available in various settings via regular placement of drinking fountains, water coolers, bottled water in vending machines, etc.
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Diet and exercise

Weatherization assistance program

Provide assistance to families with low incomes to make their homes more energy efficient and to permanently reduce their energy bills
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Housing and transportation

Worksite obesity prevention interventions

Use educational, environmental, and behavioral strategies to improve food choices and physical activity opportunities in worksite settings, also called workplace health programs
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Diet and exercise