Strategies

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

20 Strategies
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Activity programs for older adults

Offer group educational, social, creative, musical, or physical activities that promote social interactions, regular attendance, and community involvement among older adults
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Diet and exercise
  • Safety and social support
  • Civic and community resources

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

DARE to be You

Provide education and training sessions with parent-child activities and family meals for youth, parents, and care providers
Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion

Community Conditions

  • Education
  • Safety and social support

Early childhood home visiting programs

Provide at-risk expectant parents and families with young children with information, support, and training regarding child health, development, and care from prenatal stages through early childhood via trained home visitors
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Safety and social support

Extracurricular activities for social engagement

Support organized social, art, or physical activities for school-aged youth outside of the school time
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Safety and social support
  • Civic and community resources

Families and Schools Together

Convene small groups of families for facilitated weekly meetings that include a family meal, structured activities, parent support time, and parent-child play therapy
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Education
  • Safety and social support

Father involvement programs

Support fathers’ active involvement in child rearing via various father-focused or family-focused interventions
Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence

Community Conditions

  • Safety and social support

Georgia Fatherhood Program

Provide employment-based services for non-custodial fathers who pay child support and experience a job loss or a decrease in income
Evidence Rating:
Insufficient Evidence

Community Conditions

  • Safety and social support

Group-based parenting programs

Teach parenting skills in a group setting using a standardized curriculum, often based on behavioral or cognitive-behavioral approaches and focused on parents of at-risk children
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Safety and social support

Healthy Families America (HFA)

Provide home visiting services to families who are at risk for adverse childhood experiences, starting prenatally or right after birth and continuing for three to five years
Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence

Community Conditions

  • Safety and social support