Strategies

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

196 Strategies
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Healthy school lunch initiatives

Modify the school lunch food environment or school lunch schedules by increasing the convenience of healthy foods, providing healthy options, or ensuring students have enough time to eat
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Diet and exercise
  • Climate

Healthy vending machine options

Increase healthy options in vending machines by reducing the price of healthy choices, increasing the number of healthy choices compared to unhealthy choices, etc.
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Diet and exercise

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

Community Conditions

  • Education

High school completion programs for pregnant and parenting teens

Provide pregnant and parenting teens with services such as education, vocational training, case management, health care, child care, and transportation assistance to support high school completion
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Education

HIV/STI partner notification by providers

Notify partners exposed to an STI of their risk, encourage testing, and refer to services; also called contact tracing, or partner counseling and referral services
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Sexual activity

Home water temperature safety education

Educate families about safe tap water temperatures during prenatal or well-baby visits at clinic or home visits; often with home safety checks or provision of home water temperature safety equipment
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Safety and social support

Hospital wristband color standardization

Establish national standards for the colors of patient wristbands used to alert health care providers about specific conditions such as allergies or elevated fall risk
Evidence Rating:
Insufficient Evidence

Community Conditions

  • Clinical care

Hot spot policing

Focus police resources and enforcement on high-activity crime locations within a community (e.g., street blocks and buildings) using policing tactics such as increasing enforcement time, problem-oriented policing, etc.
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Safety and social support

Societal Rules

  • Institutional practices

Housing First

Provide rapid access to permanent housing and support (e.g., crisis intervention, needs assessment, case management), usually for chronically homeless individuals with persistent mental illness or substance abuse issues
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Housing and transportation

Societal Rules

  • Institutional practices