Strategies

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

Alternative fuels initiatives

Support alternative fuel and vehicle use via financial incentives (e.g., tax benefits, rebates, etc.), mandates (e.g., consumption targets or renewable fuel standards), research and development investments, etc.

Evidence Rating:

Expert Opinion

CAFO regulations

Establish local regulations for confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) that address location, size, facility management, and pollution contributions to complement U.S. EPA regulations

Evidence Rating:

Expert Opinion

Carpool & rideshare programs

Help participants share transportation via informal arrangements between individuals, formally arranged ridesharing programs, or other ride-matching services

Evidence Rating:

Expert Opinion

Cell phone-based tobacco cessation interventions

Deliver tobacco cessation advice and motivational messages via text or video message

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Clean diesel technology fleet transition programs

Replace or retrofit diesel buses or other vehicles to operate with clean diesel technology

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Community land trusts

Purchase the land a home is on to lease to homeowners with low and middle incomes and require homeowners to sell the home back to the trust or to another resident with low income upon moving

Evidence Rating:

Some Evidence

Composting

Use aerobic, natural decomposition to divert food and yard waste from landfills and create a nutrient-rich soil amendment product on an individual or large scale

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP)

Support the federal-state partnership that pays participating landowners an annual rental rate for removing environmentally sensitive land from production and introducing conservation practices on the land.

Evidence Rating:

Some Evidence

Conservation tillage practices

Encourage methods of soil cultivation that keep at least one-third of cultivated soil covered with the previous year’s crop residue (e.g., mulch till, ridge till, strip till, or no-till)

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

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

Electric vehicle initiatives

Replace internal combustion engine vehicles with all-electric vehicles through financial incentives, regulations, and multi-component initiatives

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Health care provider reminder systems for tobacco cessation

Implement systems that help health professionals support patient tobacco cessation, often with referrals, self-help pamphlets, and pharmacotherapy

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Household lead control education interventions

Inform parents and caregivers about lead exposure pathways from contaminated dust, soil, water, and air as well as the irreversible health consequences of lead exposure

Evidence Rating:

Evidence of Ineffectiveness

Inclusionary zoning & housing policies

Require developers to reserve a proportion of housing units for residents with low incomes via mandatory requirements or incentives, such as density bonuses

Evidence Rating:

Some Evidence

Integrated pest management (IPM) for agriculture & outdoor use

Support a four-tiered approach to outdoor pest control that minimizes potential hazards to people, property, and the environment

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Internet-based tobacco cessation interventions

Use websites, computer programs, and other electronic means to provide information, strategies, or behavioral support to tobacco users who want to quit, sometimes with counseling or pharmacotherapy

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Land banking

Acquire, hold, manage, and develop properties such as vacant lots, abandoned buildings, or foreclosures, and transition them to productive uses, often affordable housing developments

Evidence Rating:

Some Evidence

Lead contaminated soil abatement interventions

Clean, remove, replace, or cover lead contaminated soil with non-contaminated soil, mulch, sod, grass, or concrete

Evidence Rating:

Some Evidence

Lead paint abatement programs

Eliminate lead-based paint and contaminated dust by removing or encapsulating lead paint, or removing lead painted fixtures and surfaces

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Lead pipe & plumbing material replacement interventions

Replace lead plumbing material such as pipes, service lines, fittings, solder, flux, and fixtures with non-lead plumbing material through multi-component interventions

Evidence Rating:

Some Evidence

Mass media campaigns against tobacco use

Use broad media-based efforts to educate large groups of current and potential tobacco users about the dangers of tobacco use

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Minimum tobacco age laws

Minimum legal tobacco age (MLTA) laws specify the legal age to purchase or publicly consume tobacco products, including cigarettes, cigars, and e-cigarettes

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Mixed-use development

Support a combination of land uses (e.g., residential, commercial, recreational) in development initiatives, often through zoning regulations or Smart Growth initiatives

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Multi-component groundwater management programs

Protect underground water resources via regular groundwater monitoring, education about risks to groundwater, water quotas and taxes, and other efforts

Evidence Rating:

Some Evidence

Nutrient management plans

Support site-specific plans for crop production that match nutrient applications to crop needs, typically with agricultural best management practices

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Permeable pavement projects

Use pervious concrete, porous asphalt, permeable interlocking pavers, open-jointed blocks or cells, or other permeable pavement in individual or commercial development efforts; also called porous or pervious pavement

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

PFAS regulations

Establish regulations for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) manufactured chemicals, that address production, use, and environmental contamination

Evidence Rating:

Expert Opinion

Plastic bag bans

Prohibit the manufacture, use, and provision of single-use plastic bags, either partially or completely, and provide education and outreach to raise consumer awareness and support of bans

Evidence Rating:

Some Evidence

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

Rain barrels

Use ready-made or home constructed barrel systems to collect and store rainwater from rooftops that would otherwise flow to storm drains and streams

Evidence Rating:

Some Evidence

Rain gardens & other bioretention systems

Establish bioretention systems (e.g., rain gardens, bioretention cells, green roofs, planter boxes, bioswales, etc.) to make city landscapes more permeable to help control stormwater

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

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

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

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

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

Statewide comprehensive tobacco programs

Coordinate state and community-level cessation and prevention interventions and provide information on the dangers of tobacco using a combination of educational, regulatory, clinical, social, and economic strategies

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Tobacco cessation contests

Encourage participants to quit using tobacco by a set date or during a specific time period and give successful participants a chance to win financial rewards or other prizes; often called Quit & Win contests

Evidence Rating:

Insufficient Evidence

Tobacco cessation therapy affordability

Reduce patients’ out-of-pocket costs for tobacco cessation therapies such as nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and cessation counseling participation

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Tobacco marketing restrictions

Limit promotion, placement, flavoring, or pricing of tobacco products via regulation

Evidence Rating:

Some Evidence

Tobacco quitlines

Deliver phone-based counseling to tobacco users who want to quit, usually with follow-up calls proactively scheduled after initial contact

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Tobacco retailer licensing

Require retailers to purchase licenses to sell tobacco products; retailers must follow all tobacco control laws to keep licenses

Evidence Rating:

Expert Opinion

Tobacco retailer location restrictions

Set the number, type, proximity, and density of tobacco retailers, especially near homes and schools, via state or local zoning, licensing restrictions, or other regulations

Evidence Rating:

Expert Opinion

Tobacco taxes

Increase tobacco price per unit through taxes at the federal, state, or local level

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Vehicle anti-idling initiatives

Implement anti-idling policies and awareness campaigns to reduce engine idling for passenger vehicles, school buses, and/or equipment and truck fleets

Evidence Rating:

Some Evidence

Vehicle inspection & maintenance (I/M) programs

Require scheduled testing of vehicles’ tailpipe and evaporative emissions; federally mandated in areas with particularly poor air quality

Evidence Rating:

Some Evidence

Zoning regulation and land use policy reforms

Reform zoning regulations to remove exclusionary zoning codes, address physical environment aesthetics and safety, street continuity and connectivity, residential density, and mixed-use development, etc.

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Email my strategies

Download my strategies

Strategies

Community Conditions

Societal Rules

Community Conditions

Societal Rules

Community Conditions

Community Conditions

Community Conditions

Community Conditions

Societal Rules

Community Conditions

Community Conditions

Societal Rules

Community Conditions

Community Conditions

Societal Rules

Community Conditions

Societal Rules

Community Conditions

Community Conditions

Community Conditions

Societal Rules

Community Conditions

Community Conditions

Community Conditions

Societal Rules

Community Conditions

Societal Rules

Community Conditions

Societal Rules

Community Conditions

Societal Rules

Community Conditions

Community Conditions

Societal Rules

Community Conditions

Societal Rules

Community Conditions

Community Conditions

Community Conditions

Community Conditions

Societal Rules

Community Conditions

Societal Rules

Community Conditions

Community Conditions

Community Conditions

Community Conditions

Community Conditions

Community Conditions

Community Conditions

Societal Rules

Community Conditions

Societal Rules

Community Conditions

Societal Rules

Community Conditions

Community Conditions

Community Conditions

Community Conditions

Societal Rules

Community Conditions

Community Conditions

Societal Rules

Community Conditions

Societal Rules

Community Conditions

Societal Rules

Community Conditions

Societal Rules

Community Conditions

Community Conditions

Societal Rules