Strategies

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

172 Strategies

Soda taxes

Increase the price of sugar sweetened beverages (e.g., soda) by adding an excise or sales tax
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Diet and exercise

Societal Rules

  • Laws and policies

Statewide comprehensive tobacco programs

Coordinate state and community-level cessation and prevention interventions and provide information on the dangers of tobacco using a combination of educational, regulatory, clinical, social, and economic strategies
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Tobacco use

Strong graduated driver licensing laws

Strengthen laws that allow young drivers to gain driving experience in stages; often includes passenger and nighttime driving limitations and higher minimum ages for learner’s permits, intermediate, and full licenses
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Safety and social support

Societal Rules

  • Laws and policies

Summer learning programs

Provide academic instruction to students during the summer, often along with enrichment activities such as art or outdoor activities
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Education

Syringe services programs

Provide sterile injection equipment and often other treatment and referral services to people who inject drugs; also called needle or syringe exchange programs and needle syringe programs
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Alcohol and drug use

Societal Rules

  • Laws and policies

Technology enhanced classroom instruction

Incorporate technology into classroom instruction via computer-assisted instruction programs, computer-managed learning programs, use of interactive white boards, etc.
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Education

Text message-based health interventions

Provide reminders, education, or self-management assistance for health conditions, especially chronic diseases, via text message
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Clinical care

Tobacco cessation therapy affordability

Reduce patients’ out-of-pocket costs for tobacco cessation therapies such as nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and cessation counseling participation
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Tobacco use

Tobacco quitlines

Deliver phone-based counseling to tobacco users who want to quit, usually with follow-up calls proactively scheduled after initial contact
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Tobacco use

Tobacco taxes

Increase tobacco price per unit through taxes at the federal, state, or local level
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Tobacco use

Societal Rules

  • Laws and policies

Traffic calming

Modify the built environment to affect traffic speed and patterns via speed humps, pedestrian center crossing islands, roundabouts, etc.
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Housing and transportation

Transitional and subsidized jobs

Establish time-limited, subsidized, paid jobs to help individuals with barriers to employment transition to unsubsidized employment
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Income, employment and wealth

Treatment Foster Care Oregon

Place severely and chronically delinquent youth in foster families that are trained in structured behavior management and connected to TFCO program staff; formerly called Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Safety and social support

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

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

Zoning regulation and land use policy reforms

Reform zoning regulations to remove exclusionary zoning codes, address physical environment aesthetics and safety, street continuity and connectivity, residential density, and mixed-use development, etc.
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Housing and transportation
  • Diet and exercise
  • Air, water and land
  • Climate

Societal Rules

  • Laws and policies