Strategies

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

49 Strategies
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Bicycle & pedestrian master plans

Establish a framework to increase walking and biking trails and improve connectivity of non-auto paths and trails in a particular area
Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence

Community Conditions

  • Housing and transportation
  • Diet and exercise
  • Climate

Societal Rules

  • Institutional practices
  • Governance

Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS)

Match disadvantaged or at-risk youth with volunteer mentors in school or community settings
Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence

Community Conditions

  • Safety and social support
  • Education

Child-focused advertising restrictions for unhealthy foods & beverages

Restrict child-focused advertising for unhealthy foods and beverages via bans on unhealthy food and drink ads during children’s TV programs, product placement in children’s movies, etc.
Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence

Community Conditions

  • Diet and exercise

Societal Rules

  • Laws and policies

College-based obesity prevention educational interventions

Support multi-component educational interventions for college students that address nutrition, physical activity, and healthy weight management; often with environmental modifications
Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence

Community Conditions

  • Diet and exercise

Community gardens

Establish and support land that is gardened or cultivated by community members via community land trusts, gardening education, zoning regulation changes, or service provision (e.g., water or waste disposal)
Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence

Community Conditions

  • Diet and exercise
  • Climate
  • Civic and community resources

Community-wide physical activity campaigns

Engage a variety of partners in a highly visible, multi-component effort to increase physical activity, often with efforts to address cardiovascular disease risk factors
Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence

Community Conditions

  • Diet and exercise

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

Community Conditions

  • Safety 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

Community Conditions

  • Safety and social support
  • Civic and community resources

Employee Assistance Programs (EAP)

Provide confidential worksite-based counseling and referrals to employees to address personal and workplace challenges
Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence

Community Conditions

  • Income, employment and wealth
  • Safety and social support

Extracurricular activities for physical activity

Provide chances for kids and adolescents to be active and play sports at various skill levels via structured or unstructured after and before school athletic activities
Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence

Community Conditions

  • Diet and exercise