Strategies

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

Recreational marijuana legalization

Allow adults to possess a limited amount of marijuana for personal, non-medical use; often called recreational marijuana laws (RMLs)

Evidence Rating:

Mixed Evidence

Recreational sports leagues for adults

Offer opportunities for adults to play athletic games such as soccer, softball, kickball, basketball, etc. at beginner, intermediate, and competitive levels

Evidence Rating:

Expert Opinion

Refundable child and dependent care tax credit

Offer a refundable tax credit to working families with qualifying children or other dependents that receive care outside the home (e.g., a spouse with disabilities)

Evidence Rating:

Expert Opinion

Rent regulation policies

Establish tenant protections via regulations to the housing rental market such as limits on rent increases and eviction protections for tenants with low incomes; typically via rent stabilization

Evidence Rating:

Expert Opinion

Reparations for Black descendants of people enslaved in the U.S.

Apologize for the history and legacy of slavery and provide direct payments or community investments to Black descendants of people enslaved in the U.S.

Evidence Rating:

Expert Opinion

Reproductive life plans

Establish plans consistent with personal values and current life circumstances that set goals related to having or not having children; goals often change over time

Evidence Rating:

Expert Opinion

Responsible beverage server training (RBS/RBST)

Educate owners, managers, servers, and sellers at alcohol establishments about strategies to avoid illegally selling alcohol to underage youth or intoxicated patrons

Evidence Rating:

Some Evidence

Restaurant nutrition labeling

Provide nutrition information on menus and signboards at restaurants and other food outlets

Evidence Rating:

Some Evidence

Restorative justice in the criminal justice system

Use victim-offender dialogue to address the harm caused by a crime and victims’ needs; can take place pre-arrest or post sentence via sharing circles, victim-offender mediation, or face-to-face conferences

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Retail alcohol sale privatization

Repeal government control over retail sales of alcoholic beverages, allowing commercial retailing of those beverages

Evidence Rating:

Evidence of Ineffectiveness

Retail clinics

Establish clinics in retail stores that provide basic services for minor illnesses (e.g., sore throats or skin conditions) and procedures (e.g., immunizations, pregnancy testing, routine lab tests); also known as retail pharmacy, walk-in, or convenient care clinics

Evidence Rating:

Expert Opinion

Risk assessments & personalized approaches to fall prevention among older adults

Conduct individual assessments that gauge older adults’ risk of falling and develop personalized approaches to help prevent falls

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Rollover protective structures (ROPS)

Attach metal bars, frames, or crush proof cabs to a tractor that provide a safety zone for an operator in the event of a rollover or overturn

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Rural training in medical education

Expand medical school training and learning experiences focused on the skills necessary to practice successfully in rural areas

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Rural transportation services

Establish transportation services for areas with low population densities using publicly funded buses and vans on a set schedule, dial-a-ride transit, volunteer ridesharing, etc.

Evidence Rating:

Expert Opinion

Safe Routes to Schools

Promote walking and biking to school through education, incentives, and environmental changes; often called SRTS

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Sales to intoxicated persons (SIP) law enforcement

Increase enforcement of laws that prohibit alcoholic beverage service to intoxicated customers, usually with fines, imprisonment, or revocation of a license

Evidence Rating:

Insufficient Evidence

Scared Straight

Organize tours of prison facilities for juvenile delinquents or youth at risk of delinquency and allow them to observe prison life and attend inmates’ presentations; also called juvenile awareness programs

Evidence Rating:

Evidence of Ineffectiveness

School and district level zero tolerance policies

Require school officials to apply predetermined consequences for certain infractions, regardless of situational context or circumstances; consequences are usually severe (e.g., suspension or expulsion)

Evidence Rating:

Evidence of Ineffectiveness

School breakfast programs

Support programs to provide students with a nutritious breakfast in the cafeteria, from grab and go carts in hallways, or in classrooms

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

School dental programs

Provide sealants, fluoride treatment, screening, and other preventive dental care on school grounds via partnerships with dental professionals

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

School food & beverage restrictions

Limit access to competitive foods and beverages in schools via restrictions on foods that are not provided through the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program.

Evidence Rating:

Some Evidence

School fruit & vegetable gardens

Establish designated areas where students can garden with guidance, often with nutrition and food preparation lessons and opportunities for taste tasting and hands-on learning

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

School fundraiser restrictions

Prohibit the sale of unhealthy foods such as sugar sweetened beverages, candy, and other non-nutritious snacks at school fundraisers, often as part of a broader nutrition policy

Evidence Rating:

Expert Opinion

School nutrition standards

Regulate the quality of food that can be sold to students through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), à la carte options, vending machines, etc.

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

School or community-based abstinence-only education

Promote abstinence from sexual activity, generally only with mention of condoms and birth control to highlight failure rates

Evidence Rating:

Mixed Evidence

School-based health centers

Provide health care services on school premises to attending elementary, middle, and high school students; physical and mental health services provided by teams of nurses, nurse practitioners, and physicians

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

School-based health centers with reproductive health services

Provide reproductive health care services such as counseling, contraception, and testing in middle and high school-based health centers

Evidence Rating:

Some Evidence

School-based intimate partner violence prevention programs

Provide youth with teen dating violence education that addresses healthy relationships, gender norms, relationship coercion, and violence in a school setting

Evidence Rating:

Some Evidence

School-based nutrition education programs

Address nutrition in schools via educational (e.g., classroom or curricula-wide efforts, peer training, etc.), environmental (e.g., school menus, classroom snacks, etc.), and other approaches

Evidence Rating:

Some Evidence

School-based physical education enhancements

Expand or enhance school-based physical education (PE) by lengthening existing classes, increasing physical activity during class, adding new PE classes, etc.

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

School-based social and emotional instruction

Implement focused efforts to help children recognize and manage emotions, set and reach goals, appreciate others’ perspectives, and maintain relationships; also called social and emotional learning (SEL)

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

School-based suicide risk awareness programs

Train school staff or students to identify signs of suicidality, screen students for suicide risk, or deliver a curriculum-based program that helps all students learn to recognize warning signs of suicide in themselves and others

Evidence Rating:

Some Evidence

School-based tobacco prevention skill-building programs

Teach students personal and social skills to avoid tobacco use; led by teachers, health educators, or students in elementary schools, middle schools, or high schools

Evidence Rating:

Some Evidence

School-based trauma counseling

Help students process trauma exposure and develop coping skills through individual or small group counseling with mental health professionals or school staff with trauma-specific training

Evidence Rating:

Some Evidence

School-based violence & bullying prevention programs

Address students’ disruptive and antisocial behavior by teaching self-awareness, emotional self-control, self-esteem, social problem solving, conflict resolution, team work, social skills, etc.

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

School-community liaisons

Provide students from public schools, from low income backgrounds, or who have a high risk of dropping out and their families with information about social services and health care supports; also called community resource or family and community liaisons

Evidence Rating:

Insufficient Evidence

Scrap programs for old vehicles

Provide incentives to trade in old cars or light duty trucks with low fuel efficiency and high emissions and buy new vehicles with higher efficiency and lower emissions; also called scrappage or vehicle early retirement programs

Evidence Rating:

Expert Opinion

Screen time interventions for children

Encourage children to spend time away from TV and other stationary screen media, often as part of a multi-faceted effort to increase physical activity and improve nutrition

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Secondhand smoke education interventions

Use counseling, informational materials, etc. to inform smokers and non-smokers of the harms of secondhand smoke and encourage them to implement home smoking bans

Evidence Rating:

Mixed Evidence

Sector-based workforce initiatives

Provide industry-focused education and job training based on the needs of regional employers within specific sectors

Evidence Rating:

Some Evidence

Seller & server minimum age

Require a minimum age for sellers in off-premise locations that sell alcohol and servers and bartenders in on-premise locations

Evidence Rating:

Insufficient Evidence

Service-enriched housing

Provide permanent, basic rental housing with social services available on-site or by referral, usually for families with low incomes, older adults, veterans, or people with disabilities

Evidence Rating:

Some Evidence

Shared use agreements

Create contracts that support community access to existing public, private, or nonprofit facilities before or after business hours; also called joint use, open use, or community use agreements

Evidence Rating:

Some Evidence

Small elementary classes

Reduce the number of students in elementary school classrooms

Evidence Rating:

Some Evidence

Smart Start North Carolina

Provide comprehensive early childhood services, including high quality educational child care, health, and family support to address local needs

Evidence Rating:

Some Evidence

Smoke-free policies for indoor areas

Implement private sector rules or public sector regulations that prohibit smoking indoors or restrict it to designated, often outdoor, areas

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Smoke-free policies for multi-unit housing

Implement private sector rules or public sector regulations that prohibit smoking in and around multi-unit housing

Evidence Rating:

Expert Opinion

Smoke-free policies for outdoor areas

Implement private sector rules or public sector regulations that prohibit smoking outdoors or restrict it to designated areas

Evidence Rating:

Some Evidence

Social host laws

Adopt laws that hold private property owners who provide alcohol to minors or obviously intoxicated individuals on their property liable if someone is killed or injured as a result

Evidence Rating:

Expert Opinion

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