Strategies

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

20 Strategies matching worksite

Community supported agriculture (CSA)

Establish partnerships between farmers and consumers in which consumers purchase a share of a farm’s products in advance
Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion

Community Conditions

  • Diet and exercise
  • Climate
  • Civic and community resources

Community weight loss challenges

Support temporary programs that work to energize participants to lose weight via prizes, often combined with education, weight status and food intake tracking, regular check-ins, and group support
Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion

Community Conditions

  • Diet and exercise

Competitive pricing for healthy foods

Assign higher costs to non-nutritious foods than nutritious foods via incentives, subsidies, or price discounts for healthy foods and beverages or disincentives or price increases for unhealthy choices
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Diet and exercise
  • Climate

Societal Rules

  • Institutional practices

E-cigarette regulations

Regulate use of e-cigarettes via age, sales and marketing restrictions, expanded smoke-free air policies in public and private worksites and designated spaces, etc.
Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion

Community Conditions

  • Tobacco use

Societal Rules

  • Laws and policies

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

Financial rewards for employee healthy behavior

Offer payments, credits toward health insurance premiums, or other financial rewards to encourage employees to lose weight, eat more healthily, quit smoking, engage in physical activity, etc.
Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence

Community Conditions

  • Diet and exercise

Healthy foods at catered events

Provide more fresh fruits and vegetables, smaller portions, low fat, and reduced sodium or reduced sugar food options and other healthy foods at catered events
Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion

Community Conditions

  • Diet and exercise

Healthy vending machine options

Increase healthy options in vending machines by reducing the price of healthy choices, increasing the number of healthy choices compared to unhealthy choices, etc.
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Diet and exercise

Individually-adapted physical activity programs

Teach behavioral skills that can help individuals incorporate physical activity into their daily routines
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Diet and exercise

Multi-component obesity prevention interventions

Combine educational, environmental, and behavioral activities that increase physical activity and improve nutrition (e.g., nutrition education, aerobic/strength training, dietary prescriptions, etc.) in various settings
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Diet and exercise