Strategies

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

9 Strategies
Clear all

Adult drug courts

Use specialized courts to offer adults who are charged with an offense and have substance use disorders an alternative to adjudication or incarceration
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Safety and social support
  • Alcohol and drug use

Societal Rules

  • Laws and policies

Alcohol access restrictions in public places

Restrict alcohol availability and use at sporting events, other public events (e.g., concerts and street fairs) and in public spaces such as parks and beaches
Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion

Community Conditions

  • Alcohol and drug use

Societal Rules

  • Laws and policies

Alcohol brief interventions

Provide information and increase motivation to change or prevent problematic alcohol consumption in a short session; also called alcohol screening & brief intervention
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Alcohol and drug use

Alcohol days of sale restrictions

Limit when alcohol can be sold in bars, restaurants, and/or liquor and convenience stores; limits may apply to days or times of sale
Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence

Community Conditions

  • Alcohol and drug use

Societal Rules

  • Laws and policies

Alcohol outlet density restrictions

Limit increases in the number and concentration of alcohol outlets by area or by population through licensing or zoning regulations
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Alcohol and drug use
  • Safety and social support

Societal Rules

  • Laws and policies

Campus alcohol bans

Restrict alcohol consumption anywhere on a college or university campus or only in specific areas (e.g., residence halls)
Evidence Rating:
Insufficient Evidence

Community Conditions

  • Alcohol and drug use

Family treatment drug courts

Use specialized courts to work with parents involved in the child welfare system who may lose custody of their children due to substance use; also called family treatment courts, family dependency treatment courts, or family drug courts
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Safety and social support
  • Alcohol and drug use

Societal Rules

  • Laws and policies

Medication-assisted treatment access enhancement initiatives

Provide medications such as methadone to individuals diagnosed with opioid use disorder in outpatient, residential, and hospital settings, usually with counseling and behavioral therapies; often called MAT
Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion

Community Conditions

  • Alcohol and drug use

Proper drug disposal programs

Establish programs that accept expired, unwanted, or unused medicines from designated users and dispose of them responsibly
Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion

Community Conditions

  • Alcohol and drug use
  • Air, water and land